tr 


f  £ 

?.  *' 


"OK*. 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF. CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


<? 


//      <      ssrfr  t 

REMINISCENCES 


OF 


SCOTTISH  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER. 


BY 

E.  B.  RAMSAY,  M.A.,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.E. 

it 

DEAN    OF    EDINBURGH. 


FROM  THE  SEVENTH  EDINBURGH  EDITION. 


BOSTON: 

TICKNOR    AND    FIELDS. 
1861. 


•: 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1860,  by 

TlCKNOR   AND    FIELDS, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of 

Massachusetts. 


Riverside,    Cambridge: 
Stereotyped  and   Printed  by  H.  O.  HOUGHTON. 


NTE 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY     .        .        .        .        ...        .     xiii 

CHAPTER    I. 

On  Religious  Feelings  and  Religious  Observances  .         .       25 

CHAPTER    II. 
On  Old  Scottish  Conviviality          .         •         *         .         .       43 

CHAPTER   III. 

On  the  Old  Scottish  Domestic  Servant    ....       65 

CHAPTER    IV. 

On   Humour  proceeding  from   Scottish    Language,  in- 
cluding Scottish  Proverbs         *         .         .         .         -78 

CHAPTER   V. 

• 

On  Scottish  Stories  of  Wit  and  Humour         .         .         .  148 

CONCLUDING  REMARKS         ...        .        .        .  266 

ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  PROVERBS       ....  275 

INDEX  .  281 


R?309375 


AUTHOR'S   NOTE 


TO 


THE   AMERICAN   EDITION. 


THE  firm  of  Messrs.  TICKNOR  &  FIELDS  having  arranged 
to  bring  out  an  American  edition  of  my  "  Reminiscences  of 
Scottish  Life  and  Character,"  I  may  perhaps  without  intru- 
sion be  allowed  to  prefix  a  few  words  to  express  the  deep  and 
sincere  gratification  which  this  proposed  republication  has  af- 
forded me. 

The  mere  probability  of  there  being  a  demand  for  an 
American  reprint  of  such  a  book  is  of  itself  a  sufficient  proof 
that  Scotland,  with  its  many  humorous  and,  characteristic  asso- 
ciations, still  retains  its  hold  upon  the  affections  of  many  of 
our  transatlantic  brethren.  I  rejoice  to  think  that  the  "  Land 
o'  Cakes  "  is  remembered  with  interest  in  the  great  Republic  ; 
and  I  have  not  words  to  express  the  satisfaction  which  I  de- 
rive from  the  thought  of  contributing  to  the  amusement  of 
American  citizens  who  feel  kindly  towards  Scotland  and  Scot- 
tish reminiscences. 

No  doubt  there  must  be  many  families,  and  many  individ- 
uals scattered  throughout  the  Union,  who,  from  ties  of  kindred 
or  from  their  own  recollections,  will  feel  their  hearts  glow  with 
emotion  when  they  hear  old  Scottish  stories  of  the  last  half 
century.  In  a  distant  land,  and  amidst  very  different  scenes 


vi  Author's  Note. 

and  habits  of  life,  such  persons  will  delight  to  be  reminded  or 
informed  of  quaint  sayings  and  eccentric  doings,,  connected 
with  the  past  humorists  of  Scotland  in  all  ranks  of  society  — 
with  her  original  and  strong-minded  old  ladies  —  her  excellent 
and  simple  parish  ministers  —  her  amusing  parochial  half  daft 
idiots  —  her  pawky  lairds,  and  her  old-fashioned  and  now  obso- 
lete domestic  servants  and  retainers. 

I  have  always  myself  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the  United  States 
of  America,  and  delighted  to  mark  their  advancement  and 
progress.  I  have  enjoyed  for  many  years  past  the  society  of 
travellers  from  the  States,  both  lay  and  clerical,  when  visiting 
the  striking  and  beautiful  Scottish  metropolis ;  and  I  now  com- 
mit to  the  kind  indulgence  of  my  American  friends  and  breth- 
ren these  reminiscences  of  a  country  to  which  many  of  them 
must  look  with  a  warm  interest  as  to  an  ancient  and  honoured 
land  with  which  their  own  personal  or  ancestral  feelings  are 
inseparably  and  kindly  associated. 

E.  B.  RAMSAY. 

Edinburgh,  October  12,  1860. 


To  THE  MOST  HONOURABLE 

JAMES  ANDREW  MARQUIS   OF  DALHOUSIE 

K.T.,  P.C.,  &c.  &c. 

MY  DEAR  LORD  DALHOUSIE, 

/  beg  permission  to  dedicate  to  you  in  its 
more  enlarged  form^  a  collection  of  national  peculiarities 
which  has  grown  up  to  many  times  the  size  of  the 
original  lecture  with  which  it  commenced.  I  am  quite 
conscious  that  the  only  claim  which  this  work  can  have 
either  to  the  notice  of  my  countrymen^  or  to  any  share 
of  attention  from  your  Lordship^  consists  in  this  —  that 
it  is  conversant  with  a  class  of  anecdotes  peculiar  to 
SCOTLAND  — that  it  may  tend  to  illustrate  a  species  of 
humour  exclusively  SCOTTISH.  The  object  is  to  fix  and 
preserve  a  page  of  our  domestic  national  annals  which^ 
in  the  eyes  of  the  rising  generation^  is  fast  fading  into 
oblivion. 

I  am  happy  to  take  any  opportunity  of  acknowledging 


viii  Dedication. 

that  the  long  friendship  of  one  so  able^  so  high  minded^ 
and  so  illustrious^  as  the  Marquis  of  Dalhousie^  has 
been  amongst  the  most  honourable  and  gratifying  inci- 
dents of  a  life  not  now  a  short  one.  But  my  present 
purpose  is  rather  to  present  my  book  to  a  Scottish  noble- 
man who  has  a  full  relish  for  a  Scottish  story ',  and 
this  taste-y  in  yourself^  I  know  to  be  a  hereditary  oney 
for  your  distinguished  father^  the  late  Earl  of  Dal- 
housie^  was  a  thorough  Scotchman^  and  in  regard  to 
such  anecdotes  as  those  which  I  have  endeavoured  to 
collect^  we  may  say  of  him  (to  borrow  a  homely  expres- 
sion from  the  worthy  Bailie  Nicol  Jarvie)^  that  cc  he 
liket  ane  o'  them  weel^  honest  man  !  " 

I  am,  with  much  respect  and  regard^ 

Tour  Lordship's  affectionate  friend^ 

E.  B.  RAMSAY. 

A.INSLIE  PLACE,  EDINBURGH, 
May,  1860. 


PREFACE   TO   THE    SEVENTH    EDITION. 


N  the  'Sixth  Edition  of  the  "REMINISCENCES 
OF  SCOTTISH  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  "  a  con- 
siderable number  of  fresh  anecdotes  were  intro- 
duced from  various  sources,  whilst  some  of  those 
already  adopted  were  corrected.  In  further  il- 
lustration of  the  drinking  system,  now  fortunately  obsolete  in 
Scottish  society,  some  details  were  given  regarding  the  toasts 
and  sentiments  which  were  once  considered  a  necessary  appen- 
dage to  every  festive  board,  public  or  private.  In  the  sixth 
edition,  also,  I  was  enabled  to  introduce  some  Scottish  reminis- 
cences by  an  esteemed  friend  —  the  Rev.  Dr.  Clason.  No  one 
was  better  qualified  for  such  an  office  ;  and  I  feel  confident  that 
my  readers  have  considered  his  contribution  as  one  of  the 
most  interesting  and  important  parts  of  the  volume. 

It  has  been  one  oi  the  most  pleasing  results  of  the  favour 
with  which  this  work  has  been  received  by  my  countrymen, 
that  it  has  called  forth,  for  edition  after  edition,  so  many  kind 
communications  from  various  quarters.  Regarding  the  contri- 
butions sent  to  me  for  insertion,  my  rule  has  been  to  omit  every 
story  which  I  conceived  might  possibly  give  offence j  whether' 
from  hurting  the  feelings  of  surviving  relatives,  trespassing  upon 


x  Preface. 

delicacy  and  moral  propriety,  or  trenching  upon  the  reverence 
due  to  sacred  things.  I  have  also  made  it  a  condition  that  my 
anecdotes  should  possess  an  essentially  Scottish  character,  and 
that  they  should  illustrate  some  phase  of  Scottish  manners. 
These  reasons  have  excluded  many  stories,  some  of  which  are 
popular  and  familiar,  and  some  less  generally  known.  I  hope 
I  have  not  offended  against  my  own  laws.  I  have  endeavoured 
to  preserve  the  right  course  in  this  matter  of  selection.  I  know 
that  from  some  one  or  other  of  the  above  reasons,  or  from  sev- 
eral combined,  I  have  omitted  stories  which,  in  point  and  hu- 
mour, I  consider  among  our  best. 

Many  anecdotes,  however,  have  been  inserted  from  various 
correspondents,  and  many  suggestions  have  been  adopted. 
Still  there  remain  a  great  quantity  of  contributions,  from  which, 
no  doubt,  interesting  materials  could  be  selected  ;  and  these  I 
purpose  to  embody  in  a  Supplement,  as  a  work  separate  from 
the  present  volume,  but  arranged  under  the  same  heads,  of  re- 
ligious feelings,  conviviality,  domestics,  language  and  proverbs, 
wit  and  humour. 

From  the  numerous  communications  which  I  have  received, 
it  is  quite  evident  that  the  field  of  inquiry  for  such  reminiscences 
is  very  extensive,  and  I  am  convinced  is  far  from  being  yet 
exhausted.  But  I  fear  the  labourers  are  growing  few.  We 
are  constantly  hearing  of  the  death  of  some  person,  who,  it  is 
said,  was  possessed  of  a  rich  store  of  original  Scottish  anecdotes, 
which  have  not  been  recorded.  I  would  therefore  take  this  op- 
portunity of  soliciting,  for  the  proposed  supplemental  volume, 
contributions  from  those  who  are  interested  in  the  subject,  and 
who  have,  especially,  experience  in  the  dialect  and  humour  of 
the  fwest  of  Scotland,  and  of  those  districts  with  which  I  have 
less  acquaintance.  My  intercourse  has  chiefly  been  confined  to 
the  Forfar,  Kincardine,  and  Aberdeen  districts  of  the  country. 
I  would  further  suggest,  for  the  consideration  of  those  who  may 
^be  kindly  disposed  to  contribute  materials  towards  a  supple- 
mentary volume,  that  notices  of  customs  and  practices  now  ob- 


Preface.  xi 

solete,  which  they  can  remember  to  have  prevailed  in  society — 
like  those  communicated  by  Dr.  Clason  —  would  be  a  valuable 
and  interesting  addition  to  the  volume. 

In  calling  the  attention  of  my  countrymen  to  their  native 
Scottish  dialect,  with  all  its  force  and  humour,  I  would  again 
remind  them  of  the  uncertainty  which  hangs  over  the  question 
of  right  spelling.  There  is  no  uniform  rule  or  practice  for  our 
guidance.  We  can  only  follow  the  practice  of  those  who  are 
considered  as  of  highest  authority  amongst  Scottish  writers. 
Amongst  these,  however,  will  be  found  differences  of  spelling. 
Kelly's  work  on  Scottish  Proverbs  has  always  been  held  in  high 
estimation  for  its  correctness.  But  he  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  sufficiently  careful  to  correct  the  proof  sheets,  as  there  are 
many  typographical  errors  in  his  book.  From  these  causes  the 
Scotch  spelling  of  a  modern  author  may  be  found  fault  with, 
not  because  he  has  committed  an  error,  but  because  he  has  fol- 
lowed a  different  authority  from  his  critic.  Thus,  in  my  own 
case,  a  friendly  reviewer  of  this  work  has  objected  to  the  story 
at  page  163,  line  sixth,  of  Sixth  Edition,  that  " '  bad  in  '  is  a 
mistake  in  Scotch  for  '  hauld  in.' "  But  for  "  had,"  I  may 
quote  the  high  authority  of  Allan  Ramsay's  "  Gentle  Shep- 
herd." I  select  two  passages  from  several  to  the  same  effect :  — 

"  Sir  William,  like  a  warlock,  with  a  beard 
Five  nives  in  length,  and  white 
As  driven  snaw, 
Amang  us  came,  cry'd  —  Had  ye  merry  a*. 

"  I'm  happy  now  !  o'er  happy  ! 
Had  my  head ; 

This  gush  of  pleasure's  like  to  be 
My  dead."  1 


J  Poems  by  Allan  Ramsay.     2  vols.,  410.     Edinburgh,  1728. 
Vol.  ii.,  pages  355,  349. 


xii  Preface. 

I  may  also  refer  to  local  usage.  The  expression  belongs  to 
an  Angus  story,  and  let  me  further  remark,  that  although  (as  I 
am  quite  aware)  "  haud  in  "  is  pure  classical  Scotch,  yet  that 
in  my  country  the  constant  pronunciation  familiar  to  my  early 
"reminiscences,"  was — "had  east,"  or  "had  wast,"  "had 
in,"  etc.,  pronounced  short,  as  if  written  "  hadd" 

The  portion  of  this  work  devoted  to  our  proverbial  expres- 
sions has  been  carefully  revised,  and  it  is  with  no  small  gratifi- 
cation that  I  have  to  acknowledge  the  honour  of  having  re- 
ceived suggestions  in  this  department  from  two  such  accom- 
plished scholars  as  Lord  N eaves  and  Dr.  Hannah.  I  am 
desirous  of  again  taking  the  opportunity  of  expressing  how 
much  I  owe  to  the  valuable  and  judicious  assistance  of  Mr. 
David  Douglas,  of  the  firm  of  Edmonston  and  Douglas,  pub- 
lishers. His  accurate  knowledge  of  Scotch  has  been  most 
serviceable  in  correcting  the  press,  especially  in  the  quotations 
from  the  older  writers  on  Scottish  proverbs. 

For  such  persons  as  may  still  feel  an  interest  in  a  language 
which  is  now  fast  passing  away,  I  am  convinced  the  best  mode 
of  obtaining  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  Scottish  words  and 
phraseology,  which  constituted  the  pure  dialect  of  an  older  gen- 
eration, is  to  study  Jamieson's  Dictionary.  The  progress  of 
time  seems  only  to  bring  forth  more  clearly  the  great  research, 
the  varied  learning,  and  the  accurate  discrimination,  of  this 
remarkable  national  work. 


Reminiscences  of 
Scottish  Life  and  Character. 

INTRODUCTION. 

ANY  things  connected  with  the  Scottish 
manners  of  former  times  are  fast  becom- 
ing obsolete,  and  we  seem  at  present  to 
be  placed  in  a  juncture  when  some  Scot- 
tish traditions  may  be  lost  entirely,  if  not  now  pre- 
served. Being  impressed  with  this  truth,  I  made 
my  own  "  Reminiscences  of  Scottish  Life  and  Char- 
acter "  the  subject  of  a  lecture,  which  was  delivered 
as  one  of  the  series  given  at  Ulbster  Hall  in  1850 
by  different  contributors,  some  of  whom  were 
amongst  the  most  distinguished  of  our  citizens. 
The  idea  met  with  so  much  approval,  that  the  lect- 
ure was  published.  Since  that  time  the  materials 
have  been  growing  under  my  hand,  and  I  received 
many  contributions  on  the  subject,  which  were  soon 
embodied  in  a  second  edition.  The  public  interest 
continued,  and  brought  forth  many  flattering  and 


xiv  Introduction. 

pleasing  communications  from  various  quarters  ;   and 
I  would  here  express  how  deeply  I  have  been  grati- 
fied  by  the   sympathy  with  which   my  humble  en- 
deavours  to   exhibit  a  phase  of  Scottish   social   life 
have   been   received.     I   still   think  that  it  forms  a 
most    interesting    chapter    of    our   domestic   national 
annals.     In  fact,  if  it  were  not  presumption,  I  might 
be  inclined  to  consider  myself  a  fellow-labourer  with 
Mr.  Robert  Chambers  ;  as  in  a  very  humble  degree, 
and  in  a  very  limited  sphere,  thjs  little  volume  takes 
a  portion  of  the  same  field  of  illustration  which  he 
has  selected.     I  should  consider  myself  to  have  done 
well  if  I  shall  direct  any  of  my  readers  to  his  able 
volumes.       Whosoever   wishes   to  know   what  this 
country  really  has  been  in  times  past,  and  to  learn 
with  a  precision  beyond  what  is  supplied  by  the  nar- 
ratives of  history,  the  details  of  the  ordinary  current 
of  our  social,  civil,  and  national  life,  must  carefully 
study  the  "  Domestic  Annals  of  Scotland."     Never 
before   were   a   nation's   domestic   features  so   thor- 
oughly portrayed.      Of  those  features  the  specimens 
of  quaint  Scottish  humour  still  remembered  are  un- 
like anything  else,  but  they  are  fast  becoming  obso- 
lete, and  my  motive  for  this  publication  has  been  an 
endeavour    to    preserve    marks   of   the   past,   which 
would  of  themselves  soon  become  obliterated,  and 
to  supply  the  rising  generation  with  pictures  of  social 
life,  faded  and  indistinct  to  their  eyes,  but  the  strong 
lines'  of  which  an  older  race   still  remember.     By 
thus   coming   forward   at  a  favourable  moment,  no 


Introduction.  xv 

doubt  many  beautiful  specimens  of  SCOTTISH  MIN- 
STRELSY have  in  this  manner  been  preserved  from 
oblivion  by  the  timely  exertions  of  Bishop  Percy, 
Ritson,  Walter  Scott,  and  Professor  Aytoun.  Lord 
Macaulay,  in  his*  preface  to  "  The  Lays  of  Ancient 
Rome,"  shows  very  powerfully  the  tendency  of  all 
that  lingers  in  the  memory  to  become  obsolete,  and 
he  does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  "  Sir  Walter  Scott 
was  but  just  in  time  to  save  the  precious  relics  of  the 
minstrelsy  of  the  Border." 

We  have  just  received  a  testimony  to  the  value  of 
our  Scottish  language  from  the  illustrious  Chancellor 
of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  the  force  and  au- 
thority of  which  no  one  will  be  disposed  to  question. 
Lord  Brougham,  in  speaking  of  improvements  upon 
the  English  language,  makes  these  striking  re- 
marks :  — 

"  The  pure  and  classical  language  of  Scotland  must  on  no 
account  be  regarded  as  a  provincial  dialect,  any  more  than 
French  was  so  regarded  in  the  reign  of  Henry  V.,  or  Italian  in 
that  of  the  first  Napoleon,  or  Greek  under  the  Roman  Empire. 
Nor  is  it  to  be  in  any  manner  of  way  considered  as  a  corruption 
of  the  Saxon  ;  on  the  contrary,  it  contains  much  of  the  old 
and  genuine  Saxon,  with  an  intermixture  from  the  Northern 
nations,  as  Danes  and  Norse,  and  some,  though  a  small  portion, 
from  the  Celtic.  But  in  whatever  way  composed,  or  from 
whatever  sources  arising,  it  is  a  national  language,  used  by  the 
whole  people  in  their  early  years,  by  many  learned  and  gifted 
persons  throughout  life,  and  in  which  are  .written  the  laws  of 
the  Scotch,  their  judicial  proceedings,  their  ancient  history, 
above  all,  their  poetry. 

"  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  English  language  would 


xvi  Introduction. 

greatly  gain  by  being  enriched  with  a  number  both  of  words 
and  of  phrases,  or  turns  of  expression,  now  peculiar  to  the 
Scotch.  It  was  by  such  a  process  that  the  Greek  became  the 

first  of  tongues,  as  well  written  as  spoken 

"  Would  it  not  afford  means  of  enriching  and  improving  the 
English  language,  if  full  and  accurate  glossaries  of  improved 
Scotch  words  and  phrases  —  those  successfully  used  by  the  best 
writers,  both  in  prose  and  verse  —  were  given,  with  distinct  ex- 
planation and  reference  to  authorities  ?  This  has  been  done  in 
France  and  other  countries,  where  some  dictionaries  accompany 
the  English,  in  some  cases  with  Scotch  synonymes,  in  others 
with  varieties  of  expression."  Installation  Address,  p.  63. 

My  esteemed  friend,  Lord  Neaves,  who,  it  is  well 
known,  combines,  with  his  great  legal  knowledge 
and  high  literary  acquirements,  a  keen  sense  of  the 
humorous,  has  sometimes  pleasantly  complained  of 
my  drawing  so  many  of  my  specimens  of  Scottish 
humour  from  sayings  and  doings  of  Scottish  minis- 
ters. There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  older  school 
of  our  national  clergy  supply  some  most  amusing 
anecdotes.  They  were  a  shrewd  and  observant 
race.  They  lived  amongst  their  own  people  from 
year  to  year,  and  knew  well  the  Scottish  type  of 
character.  Their  retired  habits  and  familiar  inter- 
course with  their  parishioners,  gave  rise  to  many 
quaint  and  racy  communications.  They  were  ex- 
cellent men,  well  suited  to  their  pastoral  work,  and 
did  much  good  amongst  their  congregations  ;  for  it 
should  be  always  remembered  that  a  national  church 
requires  a  sympathy  and  resemblance  between  the 
pastors  and  the  flocks.  Both  will  be  found  to 


Introduction.  xvii 

change  together.  Nothing  could  be  further  from 
my  mind  in  recording  these  stories,  than  the  idea  of 
casting  ridicule  upon  such  an  order  of  men.  My 
own  feelings  as  a  Scotchman,  with  all  their  ancestral 
associations,  lead  me  to  cherish  their  memory  with 
pride  and  deep  interest.  I  may  appeal  also  to  the 
fact  that  many  contributions  to  this  volume  are  vol- 
untary offerings  from  distinguished  clergymen  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  as  well  as  of  the  Free  Church 
and  of  other  Presbyterian  communities.  Indeed,  no 
persons  enjoy  these  stories  more  than  ministers 
themselves.  I  recollect  many  years  ago  travelling 
to  Perth  in  the  old  stage-coach  days,  and  enjoying 
the  society  of  a  Scottish  clergyman,  who  was  a  most 
amusing  companion,  and  full  of  stories,  the  quaint 
humour  of  which  accorded  with  his  own  disposition. 
When  we  had  come  through  Glen  Farg,  my  com- 
panion pointed  out  that  we  were  in  the  parish  of 
Dron.  With  much  humour  he  introduced  an  anec- 
dote of  a  brother  minister  not  of  a  brilliant  order  of 
mind,  who  had  terminated  in  this  place  a  course  of 
appointments  in  the  Church,  the  names  of  which^  at 
least,  were  of  an  ominous  character  for  a  person  of 
unimaginative  temperament.  The  worthy  man  had 
been  brought  up  at  the  school  of  Dunse  —  had  been 
made  assistant  at  Z)#/7,  a  parish  near  Aberfeldy,  in 
the  Presbytery  of  Weem,  and  had  here  ended  his 
days  and  his  clerical  career  as  minister  of  Dron. 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  the  dedication  to  the  King 
(George  the  Fourth)  of  his  collected  edition  of  the 


xviii  Introduction. 

Waverley  Novels,  views  with  much  complacency  the 
fact  that  "  the  perusal  of  them  has  been  supposed, 
in  some  instances,  to  have  succeeded  in  amusing 
hours  of  relaxation,  or  relieving  those  of  languor, 
pain,  or  anxiety."  No  doubt  it  is  a  source  of  allow- 
able satisfaction  to  an  author  to  think  that  he  has  in 
any  degree,  even  the  lowest  and  most  humble,  con- 
tributed to  the  innocent  recreation  of  a  world  where 
sorrow  and  distress  so  generally  prevail.  The  work 
of  preparing  these  Reminiscences  has  sometimes 
succeeded  in  drawing  off  the  mind  of  the  author 
from  sad  and  painful  recollections  of  his  own  domes- 
tic trials,  and  he  may  perhaps  be  permitted  to  state, 
that  in  several  cases  he  has  received  assurance  that 
these  pages  have  beguiled  an  hour  of  languor  and  de- 
bility ;  that  they  have  recalled  many  pleasant  asso- 
ciations with  the  past,  and  have  given  a  permanent 
and  agreeable  impression  of  a  pleasantry  and  humour 
exclusively  and  essentially  of  a  Scottish  type  and 
character. 

I  wish  it  to  be  distinctly  understood  that  these 
desultory  records  were  never  intended  to  treat  of  the 
changes  which  have  taken  place  amongst  us  during 
the  last  half  century,  in  literature  or  philosophy,  in 
laws,  commerce,  manufactures,  or  in  the  deeper 
phases  of  our  national  character.  I  treat  of  changes 
and  of  transitions  which  lie  rather  upon  the  surface 
of  social  life.  In  fact,  I  speak  of  what,  to  a  great 
degree,  I  can  verify  from  my  own  experience  — 
what  I  have  not  seen  and  known  in  my' own  person 


Introduction.  xix 

I  generally  narrate  from  the  direct  testimony  of 
others.  I  can  myself  go  back  in  memory  for  fifty 
years  ;  and  therefore  these  observations,  trivial  and 
superficial  as  they  may  be,  I  might  name,  in  imita- 
tion of  my  distinguished  great-great-great-uncle, 
Bishop  Burnett,  and  call  .them  u  Memoirs  of  my 
own  Time,"  or,  more  correctly,  to  follow  a  recent 
example  of  collected  reminiscences  (that  of  the  late 
lamented  Lord  Cockburn),  u  Memorials  of  my 
Time."  I  have  recorded  the  remarks  following  in 
the  way  of  an  experiment^  hoping  that  it  might  form 
a  precedent  or  example  for  others  to  take  up  the 
question  of  changes  amongst  us,  and  for  those  to 
state  results  of  their  observation  who  have  had  far 
more  experience  than  I  have  (as  I  was  only  an  occa- 
sional visitor  to  my  own  country  from  the  age  of 
eight  to  the  age  of  thirty),  who  have  more  opportu- 
nities of  judging,  and  who  are  possessed  of  far  better 
powers  of  description.  As  Lord  Cockburn  has  ob- 
served, cc  A  change  has  been  going  on  for  a  long 
time."  "The  feelings  and  habits  which  had  pre- 
vailed at  the  Union,  and  which  had  left  so  many 
picturesque  peculiarities  on  the  Scottish  character, 
could  not  survive  the  enlarged  intercourse  with  Eng- 
land and  the  world."  Much  of  this  change  had  of 
course  taken  place  before  any  of  the  present  genera- 
tion can  remember.  Much  has  been  done  in  my 
own  recollection,  and  now  there  remains  only  com- 
paratively the  slighter  shades  of  difference  to  be 
assimilated,  and  soon  there  will  be  little  to  notice. 


xx  Introduction. 

Now,  a  subject  like  this  can  only  be  illustrated  by  a 
copious  application  of  anecdotes  which  must  show 
the  features  of  the  past.  And  let  me  premise  that  I 
make  use  of  anecdotes  not  for  the  purpose  of  telling 
a  good  story,  but  solely  in  the  way  pf  Illustration.  I 
am  quite  certain  that  thej"e  was  an  originality,  a  dry 
and  humorous  mode  of  viewing  persons  and  events 
quite  peculiar  to  the  older  Scottish  characters.  And 
I  am  equally  certain,  that  their  peculiar  humour  can 
only  be  exhibited  in  examples.  I  have  just  been 
supplied  by  two  much  valued  and  kind  friends,  with 
anecdotes  highly  illustrative  of  what  I  have  endeav- 
oured to  record  ;  from  Mr.  Erskine  of  Linlathan  I 
have  received  the  following  :  —  Mr.  Erskine  recol- 
lects an  old  housekeeper  at  Airth  who  belonged  to 
this  class  of  character.  A  speech  of  this  Mrs.  Hen- 
derson was  preserved  in  the  family  as  having  been 
made  by  her  at  the  time  of  the  execution  of  Louis 
XVI.  in  1793.  She  was  noticing  the  violent  emo- 
tions exhibited  by  Mr.  Bruce  of  Kinnaird,  the  Abys- 
sinian traveller,  at  the  sad  event  which  had  just 
taken  place,  and  added,  in  the  following  quaint  and 
caustic  terms,  "  There's  Kinnaird  greeting  as  if 
there  Were  nae  a  saunt  on  earth  but  himsell  and  the 
king  o*  France."  How  utterly  unlike  anything  that 
would  be  said  on  such  an  occasion  by  an  English 
person  in  the  same  position  in  life  ! 

The  other  anecdote  (which  has  just  been  sent  by 
a  kind  correspondent  from  Aberdeenshire)  is  neces- 
sarily omitted  in  its  proper  place  amongst  the  Bethe- 


Introduction.  xxi 

rail  stories.  But  I  am  unwilling  to  lose  it.  It  seems 
to  me  to  possess  more  than  the  ordinary  amount  of 
those  racy  qualities  which  so  often  distinguished  the 
older  class  of  Scottish  pafish  functionaries.  The 
story  is  recorded  as  having  been  told  by  the  late 
Rev.  Alexander  Allardice,  minister  of  Forgue  in 
Aberdeenshire,  who  possessed  an  unusual  vein  of 
dry  caustic  humour,  and  who  told  stories  of  that 
description  in  a  most  relishable  way. 

A  neighbouring  minister  was  to  assist  Mr.  Al- 
lardice, and  arrived  at  the  manse  on  Saturday,  where 
he  was  to  sleep,  and  take  the  duty  on  Sunday  follow- 
ing. He  was  a  conceited  youth — a  frothy  declama- 
tory preacher  —  and,  as  a  stranger,  anxious  to  make 
a  great  sensation  in  the  county.  After  dinner,  he 
strolled  out  into  the  churchyard,  and  encountered 
John  the  beddal  and  parish  oracle  engaged  in  digging 
a  grave  —-  and  much  of  a  humourist  in  his  way  — 
moreover,  a  formidable  critic  of  the  theological 
soundness  of  the  neighbouring  ministers.  Our 
young  divine  having  been  very  recently  placed^  sup- 
posed himself  to  be  personally  unknown  to  the  Forgue 
functionary.  Accordingly  he  began  to  pump  beddal 
John  as  to  the  opinion  held  of  the  brethren  around 
who  had  assisted  at  Forgue.  To  query  after  query 
John  gave  out  his  unvarying  oracular  response,  "  Na, 
sir,  we  dinna  like  him  ;  he's  nae  soun'  "  —  and  "  we 
dinna  like  him  eather  ;  he's  nae  soun',"  clinching 
every  decision  with  the  "  yerk  "  of  a  spadeful  of 
earth  on  the  grave's  brink.  At  last  the  reverend 


xxii  Introduction. 

pumper  having  exhausted  the  circle  of  his  brethren 
of  the  Presbytery,  and  secretly  gratified,  no  doubt, 
with  this  summary  and  unqualified  testimony  against 
them,  anxious  to  hear  what  was  thought  in  the  coun- 
try side  about  himself,  where  he  rather  flattered  him- 
self he  was  creating  a  sensation,  and  trusting  to  his 
incognito  (though  John  was  perfectly  aware  who  his 
colloquist  was),  ventured  to  ask,  "  Well,  now,  the 

parish  of has  got  a  famous  preacher,  the  Rev. 

Mr. what  do  you  think  of  him  ?  is  he  '  soun' '  ?  " 

"  'Od,  sir,"  replied  John,  with  a  sly  twinkle,  and  rest- 
ing for  a  moment  on  his  spade,  "  I  hinna  heard  him 
mysel'  ;  but  folk  that  hae,  say  his  A*  soun'."  John 
recommenced  digging  with  redoubled  diligence,  and 
exit  the  reverend  querist,  feeling,  we  may  fancy, 
rather  small. 

If  my  anecdotes  should  occasionally  excite  amuse- 
ment or  even  laughter,  there  is  no  harm  done  ;  but 
let  it  be  remembered  this  is  not  the  object.  The 
object,  as  I  say,  is  to  show  what  the  past  referred  to 
really  was.  In  short,  whatever  tends  to  illustrate 
changes  —  to  mark  times  that  are  gone  —  I  have 
not  hesitated  to  use. 

We  have  now,  therefore,  to  deal  with  common 
events  and  with  changes  which,  though  in  them- 
selves often  deep  and  important,  yet  appear  to  the 
observer  to  affect  only  what  is  external ;  and  as  we 
must  have  some  classification  or  arrangement  of  the 
subjects  on  which  these  changes  are  to  be  marked,  I 
would  propose  to  record  some  Reminiscences  on  the 
following  subjects  :  — 


Introduction.  xxiii 

I.   On  religious  feelings  and  religious  observances. 
II.  On  old  Scottish  conviviality. 

III.  On  the  old  Scottish  domestic  servant. 

IV.  On  humour  proceeding  from  Scottish  language, 

including  Scottish  proverbs. 
V.  On  Scottish  stories  of  wit  and  humour. 


CHAPTER   I. 

ON  RELIGIOUS  FEELINGS  AND  RELIGIOUS 
OBSERVANCES. 

'N  this  subject  we  would  speak  with  def- 
erence. We  have  no  intention  of  en- 
tering, in  this  volume,  upon  those  great 
questions  which  are  connected  with  re- 
cent church  movements  amongst  us,  or  with  national 
peculiarities  of  faith  and  discipline.  It  is  impossible, 
however,  to  overlook  entirely  the  fact  of  a  gradual 
relaxation  having  gone  on  for  some  years,  of  the 
sterner  features  of  the  Calvinistic  school  of  theology, 
—  at  any  rate,  of  keeping  its  theoretic  peculiarities 
more  in  the  background.  What  we  have  to  notice, 
in  these  pages  are  changes  in  the  feelings  with  regard 
to  religion  and  religious  observances,  which  have  ap- 
peared upon  the  exterior  of  society  —  the  changes 
which  belong  to  outward  habits  rather  than  to  inter- 
nal feelings.  Of  such  changes  many  have  taken 
place  within  my  own  experience.  Scotland  has  ever 
borne  the  character  of  a  moral  and  religious  coun- 
2 


26  Reminiscences  of 

try  ;  and  the  mass  of  the  people  are  a  more  church- 
going  race  than  the  masses  of  English  population. 
I  am  not  at  all  prepared  to  say  that  in  the  middle 
and  lower  ranks  of  life,  our  countrymen  have  under- 
gone much  change  in  regard  to  religious  observances, 
But  there  can  be  no  question  that  amongst  the  upper 
classes  there  are  manifestations  connected  with  relig- 
ion now,  which  some  years  ago  were  not  thought  of. 
The  attendance  of  men  on  public  worship  is  of  itself 
an  example  of  the  change  we  speak  of.  I  am  afraid 
that  when  Walter  Scott  described  Monkbarns  as  be- 
ing with  difficulty  "  hounded  out "  to  hear  the  ser- 
mons of  good  Mr.  Blattergowl,  he  wrote  from  a 
knowledge  of  the  habits  of  church-going  then  gen- 
erally prevalent  amongst  Scottish  lairds.  The  late 
Bishop  Sandford  told  me  that  when  he  first  came  to 
Edinburgh  —  I  suppose  fifty  years  ago  —  few  gentle- 
men attended  church  —  very  few  indeed  were  seen 
at  the  communion  —  so  much  so  that  it  was  a  mat- 
ter of  conversation  when  a  male  communicant,  not 
an  aged  man,  was  observed  at  the  table  for  the  first 
time.  Sydney  Smith,  when  preaching  in  Edinburgh 
some  forty  years  ago,  seeing  how  almost  exclusively 
congregations  were  made  up  of  ladies,  took  for  his 
text  the  verse  from  the  Psalms,  "  Oh  that  men 
would  therefore  praise  the  Lord ;  "  and  with  that 
touch  of  the  facetious  which  marked  everything  he 
did,  laid  the  emphasis  on  the  word  "  men."  Look- 
ing round  the  congregation  and  saying,  "  Oh  that 
men  would  therefore  praise  the  Lord,"  implying  that 


Scottish  Life  fy  Character.  27 

he  used  the  word,  not  to  describe  the  human  ^species 
generally,  but  the  male  individuals  as  distinguished 
from  the  female  pouion.  In  regard  to  attendance 
by  young  men,  both  at  church  and  communion,  a 
marked  change  has  taken  place  in  my  own  experi- 
ence. In  fact,  there  is  an  attention  excited  tow- 
ards church  subjects,  which,  thirty  years  ago,  would 
have  been  hardly  credited.  Nor  is  it  only  in  con- 
nection with  churches  and  church  services  that  these 
changes  have  been  brought  forth,  but  an  interest  has 
been  raised  on  the  subject  from  Bible  societies, 
missionary  associations  at  home  and  abroad,  schools 
and  reformatory  institutions,  most  of  which,  as  re- 
gard active  operation,  have  grown  up  during  fifty 
years. 

Nor  should  I  omit  to  mention,  what  I  trust  may 
be  considered  as  a  change  belonging  to  religious  feel- 
ing, viz.,  that  conversation  is  now  conducted  without 
that  accompaniment  of  absurd  and  unmeaning  oaths 
which  was  really  once  considered  an  essential  embel- 
lishment of  polite  discourse.  I  distinctly  recollect 
an  elderly  gentleman,  when  describing  the  opinion 
of  a  refined  and  polished  female  upon  a  particular 
point,  putting  into  her  mouth  an  unmistakeable 
round  oath  as  the  natural  language  in  which  people's 
sentiments  and  opinions  would  be  ordinarily  con- 
veyed. This  is  a  change  wrought  in  men's  feelings, 
which  all  must  hail  with  great  pleasure.  Putting 
out  of  sight  for  a  moment  the  sin  of  such  a  practice, 
and  the  bad  influence  it  must  have  had  upon  all 


28  Reminiscences  of 

emotions  of  reverence  for  the  name  and  attributes  of 
the  Divine  Being,  and  the  natural  effect  of  profane 
swearing,  u  to  harden  a'  within,"  we  might  marvel 
at  the  utter  folly  and  incongruity  of  making  the 
practice  an  expression  of  anger,  of  surprise,  or  of 
using  oaths  as  mere  expletives  in  common  discourse. 
A  quaint  anecdote,  descriptive  of  such  senseless 
ebullition,  I  have  from  a  friend  who  mentioned  the 
names  of  parties  concerned:  —  A  late  Duke  of 
Athole  had  invited  a  well-known  character,  a  writer 
of  Perth,  to  come  up  and  meet  him  at  Dunkeld  for 
the  transaction  of  some  business.  The  Duke  men- 
tioned the  day  and  hour  when  he  should  receive  the 
man  of  law,  who  accordingly  came  punctually  at  the 
appointed  time  and  place.  But  the  Duke  had  for- 
gotten the  appointment,  and  gone  to  the  hill,  from 
which  he  could  not  return  for  some  hours.  A  high- 
lander  present  described  the  Perth  writer's  indigna- 
tion, and  his  mode  of  shewing  it,  by  a  most  elaborate 
course  of  swearing.  c<  But  whom  did  he  swear 
at  ?  "  was  the  inquiry  made  of  the  narrator,  who  re- 
plied, "  Ou,  he  didna  sweer  at  ony  thing  parteecular, 
but  juist  stude  in  ta  middle  of  ta  road  and  swoor  at 
lairge."  I  have  from  a  friend  also  an  anecdote 
which  shews  how  entirely  at  one  period  the  practice 
of  swearing  had  become  familiar  even  to  female  ears 
when  mixed  up  with  the  intercourse  of  social  life. 
A  sister  had  been  speaking  of  her  brother  as  much 
addicted  to  this  habit  —  "Our  John  sweers  awfu', 
and  we  try  to  correct  him;  but,"  she  added  in  a 


Scottish  Life   fy    Character.  29 

candid  and  apologetic  tone,  u  nae  doubt  it  is  a  great 
set  aff  to  conversation." 

This  is  the  place  to  notice  changes  which  have 
taken  place  in  regard  to  the  questions  of  taste  in  the 
building  and  embellishing  Scottish  places  of  worship 
generally.  Some  years  back  there  was  a  great  jeal- 
ousy of  ornament  in  connection  with  churches  and 
church  services,  and,  in  fact,  all  such  embellishments 
were  considered  as  marks  of  a  departure  from  the 
simplicity  of  old  Scottish  worship,  —  they  were  dis- 
tinctive of  Episcopacy  as  opposed  to  the  severer 
modes  of  Presbyterianism.  The  late  Sir  William 
Forbes  used  to  give  an  account  of  a  conversation, 
indicative  of  this  feeling,  which  he  had  overheard 
between  an  Edinburgh  inhabitant  and  his  friend  from 
the  country.  They  were  passing  St.  John's,  which 
had  just  been  finished,  and  the  countryman  asked, 
"  Whatna  kirk  was  that !  "  "  Oh,"  said  the  towns- 
man, "  that  is  an  English  chapel,"  meaning  Episco- 
palian. "  Ay,"  said  his  friend,  "  there'll  be  walth  o' 
images  there."  But,  if  unable  to  sympathize  with 
architectural  church  ornament  and  embellishment, 
how  much  less  could  they  sympathize  with  the  per- 
formance of  divine  service,  which  included  such 
musical  accompaniments  as  intoning,  chanting,  and 
anthems  ?  On  the  first  introduction  of  Tractarian- 
ism  into  Scotland,  the  full  choir  service  had  been 
established  in  an  Episcopal  church,  where  a  noble 
family  had  adopted  those  views,  and  carried  them 
out  regardless  of  expense.  The  lady  who  had  been 


30  Reminiscences  of 

instrumental  in  getting  up  these  musical  services  was 
very  anxious  that  a  favourite  female  servant  of  the 
family  —  a  Presbyterian  of  the  old  school  —  should 
have  an  opportunity  of  hearing  them  ;  accordingly, 
she  very  kindly  took  her  down  to  church  in  the  car- 
riage, and  on  returning  asked  her  what  she  thought 
of  the  music,  etc.,  "  Ou,  it's  varra  bonny,  varra 
bonny  j  but  oh,  my  lady,  it's  an  awfu'  way  of  spend- 
ing the  Sabbath."  The  good  woman  could  only 
look  upon  the  whole  thing  as  a  musical  performance. 
The  organ  was  a  great  mark  of  distinction  between 
Episcopalian  and  Presbyterian  places  of  worship.  I 
have  heard  of  an  old  lady  describing  an  Episcopalian 
clergyman,  without  any  idea  of  disrespect,  in  these 
terms  :  —  u  Oh,  he  is  a  whistle-kirk  minister."  Of 
late  years,  however,  a  spirit  of  greater  tolerance  of 
such  things  has  been  growing  up  amongst  us,  —  a 
greater  tolerance,  I  suspect,  even  of  organs  and  litur- 
gies. In  fact,  we  may  say  a  new  era  has  begun  in 
Scotland  as  to  church  architecture  and  church  orna- 
ments. The  use  of  stained  glass,  and  the  restora- 
tion of  ancient  edifices,  indicate  a  revolution  of 
feeling  regarding  this  question.  Beautiful  and  ex- 
pensive churches  are  rising  everywhere,  and  belong- 
ing to  all  denominations.  It  is  not  long  since  the 
building  or  repairing  a  new  church,  or  the  repairing 
and  adapting  an  old  church,  implied  in  Scotland  sim- 
ply a  production  of  the  greatest  possible  degree  of 
ugliness  and  bad  taste  at  the  least  possible  expense, 
and  certainly  never  included  any  notion  of  ornament 


Scottish  Life  <f  Character.  31 

in  the  details.  Now,  large  sums  are  expended  on 
places  of  worship  without  reference  to  creed. 
First-rate  architects  are  employed.  Fine  Gothic 
structures  are  produced.  The  rebuilding  of  the 
Greyfriars'  Church,  the  restoration  of  South  Leith 
Church  and  of  Glasgow  Cathedral,  the  very  bold 
experiment  of  adopting  a  style  little  known  amongst 
us,  the  pure  Lombard,  in  a  church  for  Dr.  W.  L. 
Alexander,  on  George  IV.  Bridge,  Edinburgh  ;  the 
really  splendid  Free  Church  now  erecting  in  Albany 
Street,  with  a  Gothic  mansion  attached,  and  many 
similar  cases,  mark  the  spirit  of  the  tynes  regarding 
the  application  of  what  is  beautiful  in  art  to  the  ser- 
vice of  religion.  One  might  hope  that  changes  such 
as  these  in  the  feelings,  tastes,  and  associations, 
would  have  a  beneficial  effect  in  bringing  the  wor- 
shippers themselves  into  a  more  genial  spirit  of  for- 
bearance with  each  other.  A  friend  of  mine  used 
to  tell  a  story  of  an  honest  builder's  views  of  church 
differences,  which  was  very  amusing,  and  quaintly 
professional.  An  English  gentleman,  who  had  ar- 
rived in  a  Scottish  country  town,  was  walking  about 
to  examine  the  various  objects  which  presented 
themselves,  and  observed  two  rather  handsome 
places  of  worship  in  course  of  erection  nearly  op- 
posite to  each  other.  He  addressed  a  person,  who 
happened  to  be  the  contractor  for  the  chapels,  and 
asked,  "  What  was  the  difference  between  these 
two  places  of  worship  which  were  springing  up  so 
close  to  each  other  ?  "  —  meaning,  of  course,  the 


32  Reminiscences  of 

difference  of  the  theological  tenets  of  the  two  con- 
gregations. The  contractor,  who  thought  only  of 
architectural  differences,  innocently  replied,  "  There 
may  be  a  difference  of  sax  feet  in  length,  but  there's 
no  aboon  a  few  inches  in  the  breadth."  Would 
that  all  our  religious  differences  could  be  brought 
within  so  narrow  a  compass  ! 

It  might  be  a  curious  question  to  consider  how 
far  motives  founded  on  mere  taste  or  sentiment  may 
have  operated  in  creating  an  interest  towards  relig- 
ion, and  in  making  it  a  more  prominent  and  popular 
question  than  it  was  in  the  early  portion  of  the 
present  century.  There  are  in  this  country  two 
causes  which  have  combined  in  producing  these 
effects  :  —  1st.  The  great  disruption  which  took 
place  in  the  Church  of  Scotland  no  doubt  called 
forth  an  attention  to  the  subject  which  stirred  up  the 
public,  and  made  religion  at  any  rate  a  topic  of  deep 
interest  for  discussion  and  for  partizanship.  Men's 
minds  were  not  allowed  to  remain  in  the  torpid  con- 
dition of  a  past  generation.  2d.  The  aesthetic  move- 
ment in  religion,  which  some  years  since  was  made 
in  England,  has,  of  course,  had  its  influence  in  Scot- 
land, and  many  who  shewed  little  concern  about 
religion,  whilst  it  was  merely  a  question  of  doctrines, 
of  precepts,  and  of  worship,  threw  themselves  keenly 
into  the  question  when  it  became  associated  with 
ceremonial,  and  music,  and  high  art.  New  ecclesi- 
astical associations  have  been  presented  to  Scottish 
tastes  and  feelings.  With  some  minds,  attachment 


Scottish  Life   fy   Character.  33 

to  the  church  is-  attachment  to  her  Gregorian  tones, 
jewelled  chalices,  lighted  candles,  embroidered  altar- 
cloths,  silver  crosses,  processions,  copes,  albs,  and 
chasubles.  But  from  whatever  cause  it  proceeds,  a 
great  change  has  taken  place  in  the  general  interest 
excited  towards  ecclesiastical  questions.  Religion 
now  has  numerous  associations  with  the  ordinary 
current  of  human  life.  In  times  past  it  was  kept 
more  as  a  thing  apart.  There  was  a  false  delicacy 
which  made  people  shrink  from  encountering  appel- 
lations that  were  usually  bestowed  upon  those  who 
made  a  more  prominent  appearance  than  the  world 
at  large,  in  regard  to  a  religious  profession. 

A  great  change  has  taken  place  in  this  respect 
with  persons  of  all  shades  of  religious  opinions. 
With  an  increased  attention  to  the  externals  of  relig- 
ion, we  believe  that  in  many  points  the  heart  is  more 
exercised  also.  Take,  as  an  example,  the  practice 
of  family  prayer.  Many  excellent  and  pious  house- 
holds of  the  former  generation  would  not  venture 
upon  the  observance,  I  am  afraid,  because  they  were 
in  dread  of  the  sneer.  There  was  a  foolish  applica- 
tion of  the  terms  "  Methodist,"  "  saints,"  "  over- 
righteous,"  where  the  practice  was  observed.  It 
was  to  take  up  a  rather  decided  position  in  the 
neighbourhood,  and  I  can  testify,  that  less  than  fifty 
years  ago,  a  family  would  have  been  marked  and 
talked  of  for  a  usage  of  which  now  throughout  the 
country  the  exception  is  rather  the  unusual  circum- 
stance. A  little  anecdote  from  recollections  in  my 
2* 


34  Reminiscences  of 

own  family  will  furnish  a  good  illustration  of  a  state 
of  feeling  on  this  point  now  happily  unknown.  In 
a  northern  town  of  the  east  coast,  where  the  earliest 
recollections  of  my  life  go  back,  there  was  usually  a 
detachment  of  a  regiment,  who  were  kindly  receiveji' 
and  welcomed  to  the  society,  which  in  the  winter 
months  was  very  full  and  very  gay.  There  was  the 
usual  measure  of  dining,  dancing,  supping,  card- 
playing,  and  gossiping,  which  prevailed  in  country 
towns  at  the  time.  The  officers  were  of  course  an 
object  of  much  interest  to  the  natives,  and  their 
habits  were  much  discussed.  A  friend  was  staying 
in  the  family  who  partook  a  good  deal  of  the  Athe- 
nian temperament,  viz.,  a  delight  in  hearing  and 
telling  some  new  thing.  On  one  occasion  she  burst 
forth  in  great  excitement  wi'th  the  intelligence  that 
"  Sir  Nathaniel  Duckinfield,  the  officer  in  command 
of  the  detachment,  had  family  prayers  every  morn- 
ing! "  A  very  near  and  dear  relative  of  mine, 
knowing  the  tendency  of  the  lady  to  gossip,  pulled 
her  up  with  the  exclamation  :  "How  can  you  re- 
peat such  things,  Miss  Ogilvy  ;  nothing  in  the 
world  but  the  ill-natured  stories  of  Montrose  !  !  " 
The.  remark  was  made  quite  innocently  and  uncon- 
sciously of  the  bitter  satire  it  conveyed  upon  the 
feeling  of  the  place.  The  "  ill-nature  "  of  these 
stories  was  true  enough,  because  ill-nature  was  the 
motive  of  those  who  raised  them  ;  not  because  it  is 
an  ill-natured  thing  of  itself  to  say  of  a  family  that 
they  have  household  worship,  but  the  ill-nature  con- 


Scottish  Life  fy  Character.  35 

sisted  in  their  intending  to  throw  out  a  sneer  and  a 
sarcasm  upon  a  subject  where  all  such  reflections  are 
unbecoming  and  indecorous.  It  is  one  of  the  best 
proofs  of  change  of  habits  and  associations  on  this 
jnatter,  that  the  anecdote,  exquisite  as  it  is  for  our 
purpose,  will  hardly  be  understood  by  many  of  our 
youn'g  friends,  or,  at  least,  happily  has  lost  much  of 
its  force  and  pungency. 

These  remarks  apply  to  the  state  of  religious  feel- 
ing amongst  the  upper  classes  of  society.  I  am  not 
aware  of  much  change  in  the  religious  habits  of  the 
Scottish  peasantry  —  perhaps  the  elders  have  yielded 
something  from  the  sternness  of  David  Deans.  But, 
as  compared  with  the  corresponding  class  in  Eng- 
land, there  are  many  circumstances  to  distinguish 
the  theological  tenets  and  strict  observance  of  relig- 
ious ordinances  of  the  Scottish  from  the  usual  feel- 
ings of  the  English  peasant. 

The  kindly  feelings  and  interest  of  the  pastoral 
relation  always  formed  a  very  pleasing  intercourse 
between  minister  and  people.  I  have  received  from 
an  anonymous  correspondent  an  anecdote  illustrative 
of  this  happy  connection,  for  which  he  vouches  as 
authentic  :  — 

John  Brown,  Burgher  minister  at  Whitburn  (son 
of  the  commentator,  and  father  of  the  late  Rev. 
Dr.  John  Brown  of  Edinburgh,  and  grandfather  of 
the  present  accomplished  M.  D.  of  the  same  name, 
author  of  "  Rab  and  his  Friends,"  etc.),  in  the  early 
part  of  the  century  was  travelling  on  a  small  sheltie  l 

1  A  Shetland  pony. 


36  Reminiscences  'of 

to  attend  the  summer  sacrament  at  Haddington. 
Between  Musselburgh  and  Tranent  he  overtook  one 
of  his  own  people.  "  What  are  ye  dain'  here,  Ja- 
net, and  whaur  ye  gaun  in  this  warm  wather  ?  " 
"  Deed  sir,"  quo*  Janet,  "  I'm  gaun  to  Haddington 
for  the  occasion^  an'  expeck  to  hear  ye  preach  this 
efternoon."  "  Very  weel,  Janet,  but  whaur  ye 
gaun  to  sleep  ?  "  "  I  dinna  ken,  sir,  but  Providence 
is  aye  kind,  an'll  provide  a  bed."  On  Mr.  Brown 
jogged,  and  after  service  in  the  afternoon,  before 
pronouncing  the  blessing,  he  said  from  the  pulpit, 
"  Whaur's  the  auld  wifie  that  followed  me  frae 
Whitburn?"  "Here  Pm  sir,"  uttered  a  shrill 
voice  from  a  back  seat.  "  Aweel,"  said  Mr.  Brown, 
"  I  have  fand  ye  a  bed  ;  ye're  to  sleep  wi'  Johnnie 
Fife's  lass." 

There  was  at  all  times  amongst  the  older  Scottish 
peasantry  a  bold  assertion  of  their  religious  opinions, 
and  strong  expression  of  their  feelings.  The  spirit 
of  the  Covenanters  lingered  amongst  the  aged  people 
whom  I  remember,  but  which  time  has  considerably 
softened  down.  We  have  some  recent  authentic  in- 
stances of  this  readiness  in  Scotchmen  to  bear  testi- 
mony to  their  principles  — 

A  friend  has  informed  me  that  the  late  Lord 
Rutherfurd  often  told  with  much  interest  of  a  re- 
buke which  he  received  from  a  shepherd,  near 
Bonally,  amongst  the  Pentlands.  He  had  entered 
into  conversation  with  him,  and  was  complaining 

1  The  Lord's  Supper 


Scottish  Life  fy  Character.  37 

bitterly  of  the  weather,  which  prevented  him  enjoy- 
ing his  visit  to  the  country,  and  said  hastily  and 

unguardedly,  "  What  a  d d  mist !  "  and  then 

expressed  his  wonder  how  or  for  what  purpose  there 
should  have  been  such  a  thing  created  as  east  wind. 
The  shepherd,  a  tall,  grim  figure,  turned  sharp 
round  upon  him.  "  What  ails  you  at  the  mist,  sir  ; 
it  weets  the  sod,  it  slockens  the  yowes,  and  "  — 
adding  with  much  solemnity —  "  it's  God's  wull ;  " 
and  turned  away  with  lofty  indignation.  Lord 
Rutherfurd  used  to  repeat  this  with  much  candour 
as  a  fine  specimen  of  rebuke  from  a  sincere  and 
simple  mind. 

Something  like  this  is  reported  of  an  eminent  pro- 
fessor of  geology,  who,  visiting  in  the  Highlands, 
met  an  old  man  on  the  hills  on  Sunday  morning. 
The  professor,  partly  from  the  effect  of  habit,  and 
not  adverting  to  the  very  strict  notions  on  Sabbath 
desecration  entertained  in  Ross-shire,  had  his  pocket 
hammer  in  hand,  and  was  thoughtlessly  breaking  the 
specimens  of  minerals  he  picked  up  by  the  way. 
The  old  man  for  some  time  eyed  the  geologist,  and 
going  up  to  him,  quietly  said,  "  Sir,  ye're  breaking 
something  there  forbye  the  stanes  !  " 

The  same  feeling  under  a  more  fastidious  form 
was  exhibited  to  a  traveller  by  a  Scottish  peasant :  — 
An  English  artist  travelling  professionally  through 
Scotland  had  occasion  to  remain  over  Sunday  in  a 
small  town  in  the  north.  To  while  away  the  time, 
he  walked  out  a  short  way  in  the  environs,  where 


38  Reminiscences  of 

the  picturesque  ruin  of  a  castle  met  his  eye.      He 
asked  a  countryman  who  was  passing  to  be  so  good 
as  tell  him  the  name  of  the  castle.     The  reply  was 
somewhat  startling  —  "It's  no  the  day  to  be  speer-  , 
ing  sic  things  !  " 

A  manifestation  of  even  still  greater  strictness,  on 
the  subject  of  Sabbath  desecration,  I  have  received 
from  a  relative  of  the  family  in  which  it  occurred. 
About  fifty  years  ago  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Stewart  lived 
in  Heriot  Row,  who  had  a  cook,  Jeannie  by  name, 
a  paragon  of  excellence.  One  Sunday  morning 
when  her  daughter  (afterwards  Lady  Elton)  went 
into  the  kitchen,  she  was  surprised  to  find  a  new 
jack  (recently  ordered,  and  which  was  constructed 
on  the  principle  of  going  constantly  without  winding 
up),  wholly  paralyzed  and  useless.  Miss  Stewart 
naturally  inquired  what  accident  had  happened  to 
the  new  jack,  as  it  had  stopped.  The  mystery  was 
soon  solved  by  Jeannie  indignantly  exclaiming  that 
"  she  was  nae  gaeing  to  hae  the  fule  thing  clocking 
and  rinning  about  in  her  kitchen  a'  the  blessed  Sab- 
bath day." 

There  sometimes  appears  to  have  been  in  our 
countrymen  an  undue  preponderance  of  zeal  for 
Sabbath  observance  as  compared  with  the  impor- 
tance attached  to  other  commands,  and  especially  as 
compared  with  the  virtue  of  sobriety.  The  follow- 
ing dialogue  between  Mr.  M of  Glasgow,  the 

celebrated  artist,  and  an   old  highland  acquaintance 
whom  he  had  met  with  unexpectedly,  will  illustrate 


Scottish  Life  fy  Character.  39 

the  contrast  between  the  severity  of  judgment  passed 
upon  treating  the  Sabbath  with  levity  and  the  lighter 
censure  attached  to  indulgence  in  whisky.  Mr. 

M begins  :  — "  Donald,     what    brought    you 

here  ?  "  "  Ou,  weel,  sir,  it  was  a  baad  place  yon  ; 
they  were  baad  folk  —  but  they're  a  God-fearin'  set  oj 
folk  here ! "  "  Well,  Donald,"  said  Mr.  M.,  "  I'm 
glad  to  hear  it."  "  Ou  ay,  sir,  'deed  are  they ;  an* 
I'll  gie  ye  an  instance  o't.  Last  Sabbath,  just  as  the 
kirk  was  skailin',  there  was  a  drover  chield  frae  Dum- 
fries comin'  along  the  road  whustlin',  an'  lookin'  as 
happy  as  if  it  was  ta  muddle  o'  the  week ;  weel,  sir, 
oor  laads  is  a  God-fearin'  set  o'  laads,  an'  they  were 
just  comin'  oot  o'  the  kirk  —  od  they  yokit  upon 
him,  an'  a'most  killed  him ! "  Mr.  M.,  to  whom 
their  zeal  seemed  scarcely  sufficiently  well  directed 
to  merit  his  approbation,  then  asked  Donald  whether 
it  had  been  drunkenness  that  induced  the  depravity 
of  his  former  neighbours  ?  "  Weel,  weel,  sir,"  said 
Donald,  with  some  hesitation,  "may-bee;  I'll  no 
say  but  it  micht."  "  Depend  upon  it,"  said  Mr. 
M.,  "it's  a  bad  thing,  whisky."  "Weel,  weel, 
sir,  replied  Donald,  "  I'll  no  say  but  it  may  ,•"  add- 
ing in  a  very  decided  tone  —  "  speeciallie  baad 
whusky ! " 

The  Scottish  peasantry  of  the  older  school  de- 
lighted in  expositions  of  doctrinal  subjects,  and  in 
fact  were  extremely  jealous  of  any  minister  who 
departed  from  their  high  standard  of  orthodox  divin- 
ity, by  selecting  subjects  which  involved  discussions 


40  Reminiscences  of 

of  strictly  moral  or  practical  questions.  A  worthy 
old  clergyman  having,  upon  the  occasion  of  a  com- 
munion Monday,  taken  a  text  of  such  a  character, 
was  thus  commented  on  by  an  ancient  dame  of  the 
congregation,  who  was  previously  acquainted  with 
his  style  of  discourse ;  —  "if  there's  an  ill  text  in  a* 
the  Bible,  that  creetur's  aye  sure  to  tak  it." 

It  may  be  well  supposed  that  a  peasantry  with 
such  religious  opinions  would  be  much  shocked  at 
any  persons  whose  principles  were  known  to  be  of 
an  infidel  character.  There  is  a  story  traditionary  in 
Edinburgh  regarding  David  H'ume,  which  illustrates 
this  feeling  in  a  very  amusing  manner,  and  which  I 
have  heard  it  said,  Hume  himself  often  narrated. 
The  philosopher  had  fallen  from  the  path  into  the 
swamp  at  the  back  of  the  Castle,  the  existence  of 
which  I  recollect  hearing  of  from  old"  persons  forty 
years  ago.  He  fairly  stuck  fast,  and  called  to  a 
woman  who  was  passing,  and  begged  her  assistance. 
She  passed  on  apparently  without  attending  to  the 
request ;  at  his  earnest  entreaty,  however,  she  came 
where  he  was,  and  asked  him,  "  Are  na  ye  Hume 
the  Atheist  ?"  "  Well,  well,  no  matter,"  said 
Hume  ;  "  Christian  charity  commands  you  to  do 
good  to  every  one."  "  Christian  charity  here,  or 
Christian  there,"  replied  the  woman,  "  I'll  do  nae- 
thing  for  you  till  ye  turn  a  Christian  yersell  —  ye  maun 
repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Creed,  or  faith  I'll 
let  ye  grafel1  there  as  I  fand  ye."  The  sceptic, 
1  Lie  in  a  grovelling  attitude.  See  Jamieson. 


Scottsih  Life  fy  Character.  41 

really  afraid  for  his  life,  rehearsed  the  required  for- 
mulas. 

The  feelings  on  such  subjects  entertained  by  the 
inhabitants  of  our  crowded  cities,  wynds,  and  closes, 
are  no  criterion  of  the  national  religious  character. 
It  is  a  great  difficulty  to  get  them  to  attend  Divine 
worship  at  all,  as  many  circumstances  combine  to 
break  off  all  associations  with  public  services. 

A  lady,  who  is  most  active  in  visiting  the  houses 
of  these  outcasts  from  the  means  of  grace,  gives  me 
an  amusing  instance  of  self-complacency  arising 
from  such  attendance.  She  was  visiting  in  the  West 
Port,  not  "far  from  the  church  established  by  my 
illustrious  friend  the  late  Dr.  Chalmers.  Having 
asked  a  poor  woman  if  she  ever  attended  it  for 
Divine  service — "  Ou  ay,"  she  replied;  "there's 
a  man  ca'd  Chalmers  preaches  there,  and  I  whiles 
gang  in  and  hear  him,  just  to  encourage  him,  puir 
body!" 

From  the  religious  opinions  of  a  people,  the 
transition  is  natural  to  their  political  partialities. 
One  great  political  change  has  passed  over  Scotland, 
which  none  now  living  can  hardly  be  said  to  have 
actually  witnessed ;  but  they  remember  those  who 
were  contemporaries  of  the  anxious  scenes  of  '45, 
and  many  of  us  have  known  determined  and  thor- 
ough Jacobites.  The  poetry  of  that  political  period 
still  remains,  and  we  hear  but  as  pleasant  songs, 
those  words  and  melodies  which  stirred  the  hearts 
and  excited  the  deep  enthusiasm  of  a  past  genera- 


42  Reminiscences  etc. 

tion.  But  Jacobite  anecdotes  are  fading  from  our 
knowledge.  To  many  young  persons  they  are 
unknown.  Of  these  stories  illustrative  of  Jacobite 
feelings  and  enthusiasm,  many  are  of  a  character  not 
fit  for  me  to  record.  The  good  old  ladies  who 
were  violent  partisans  of  the  Stuarts  had  little  hesi- 
tation in  referring  without  reserve  to  the  future  and 
eternal  destiny  of  William  of  Orange.  One  anec- 
dote which  I  had  from  a  near  relative  of  the  family 
may  be  adduced  in  illustration  of  the  powerful  hold 
which  the  cause  had  upon  the  views  and  consciences 
of  Jacobites. 

A  former  Mr.  Stirling  of  Keir  had  favoured  the 
Stuart  cause,  and  had  in  fact  attended  a  muster  of 
forces  at  the  Brig  of  Turk  in  the  year  1708.  This 
symptom  of  a  rising  against  the  Government  occa- 
sioned some  uneasiness,  and  the  authorities  were 
very  active  in  their  endeavours  to  discover  who  were 
the  leaders  of  the  movement.  Keir  was  suspected. 
The  miller  of  Keir  was  brought  forward  as  a  wit- 
ness, and  swore  positively  that  the  Laird  was  not 
present.  Now,  as  it  was  well  known  that  he  was 
there,  and  that  the  miller  knew  it,  a  neighbour  asked 
him  privately  when  he  came  out  of  the  witness-box, 
how  he  could  on  oath  assert  such  a  falsehood.  The 
miller  replied,  quite  undaunted,  and  with  a  feeling 
of  confidence  in  the  righteousness  of  his  cause 
approaching  the  sublime  —  "I  would  rather  trust 
my  soul  to  God's  mercy  than  trust  Keir's  head  into 
their  hands." 


CHAPTER   II. 
ON  OLD  SCOTTISH  CONVIVIALITY. 


next  change  in  manners  which  has 
been  effected  in  the  memory  of  many 
now  living,  regards  the  habits  of  conviv- 
iality, or,  to  speak  more  plainly,  regards 
the  banishment  of  drunkenness  from  polite  society. 
It  is  indeed  a  most  important  and  a  blessed  change. 
But  it  is  a  change  the  full  extent  of  which  many  per- 
sons now  alive  have  little  conception  of.  It  is  hardly 
possible  to  realize  the  scenes  which  took  place  in 
society  fifty  years  back,  or  even  less.  In  many 
houses,  when  a  party  dined,  the  ladies  going  away 
was  the  signal  for  the  commencement  of  a  system 
of  compulsory  conviviality.  No  one  was  allowed  to 
shirk  —  no  daylight  —  no  heeltaps  —  was  the  wretched 
jargon  in  which  were  expressed  the  propriety  and 
the  duty  of  seeing  that  the  glass,  when  filled,  must 
be  emptied  and  drained.  We  have  heard  of  glasses 
having  the  bottoms  knocked  ofF,  so  that  no  shuffling 


44  Reminiscences  of 

tricks  might  be  played  with  them,  and  that  they 
could  only  be  put  down  —  empty. 

Some  relatives  of  mine  travelling  in  the  High- 
lands were  amused  by  observing  in  a  small  road-side 
public-house  the  use  of  such  an  implement  of  con- 
viviality, which  called  forth  that  quaint,  humorous 
manner  which  is  so  thoroughly  Scottish.  Three 
drovers  had  met  together  and  were  celebrating  their 
meeting  by  a  liberal  consumption  of  whisky  ;  they 
filled  their  one  glass  without  bottom  and  passed  it 
on  from  one  to  another ;  one  queer-looking  pawky 
chield,  whenever  the  glass  came  to  his  turn,  remarked 
most  gravely,'"  I  think  we  wadna  be  the  waur  of 
some  water,"  taking  care,  however,  never  to  add  any 
of  the  simple  element,  but  quietly  drank  off  his  glass. 

The  scenes  of  excess  which  occurred  in  the 
houses  where  deep  drinking  was  practised  must  have 
been  most  revolting  to  sober  persons  who  were  un- 
accustomed to  such  conviviality;  as  in  the  case  of 
a  drinking  Angus  laird,  entertaining  as  his  guest  a 
London  merchant  of  formal  manners  and  temperate 
habits.  The  poor  man  was  driven  from  the  table 
when  the  drinking  set  in  hard,  and  stole  away  to 
take  refuge  in  his  bed-room.  The  company,  how- 
ever, were  determined  not  to  let  the  worthy  citizen 
off  so  easily,  but  proceeded  in  a  body,  with  the  laird 
at  their  head,  and  invaded  his  privacy  by  exhibiting 
bottles  and  glasses  at  his  bed-side.  Losing  all 
patience,  the  wretched  victim  gasped  out  his  indig- 
nation, — "  Sir,  your  hospitality  borders  upon  bru- 


Scottish  Life  fy- Character.  45 

tality."  It  must  have  had  a  fatal  influence  also  on 
many  persons  to  whom  drinking  was  most  injurious, 
and  who  were  yet  not  strong-minded  enough  to 
resist  the  temptations  to  excess.  Poor  James  Bos- 
well,  who  certainly  required  no  extraordinary  urging 
to  take  a  glass  too  much,  is  found,  in  his  letters 
which  have  recently  come  to  light,  laying  the  blame 
of  his  excesses  to  "falling  into  a  habit  which  still 
prevails  in  Scotland ; "  and  then  he  remarks,  with 
censorious  emphasis,  on  the  "  drunken  manners  of 
his  countrymen."  This  was  about  1770. 

In  my  part  of  the  country  the  traditionary  stories 
of  drinking  prowess  are  quite  marvellous.  On 
Deeside  there  flourished  a  certain  Saunders  Paul 
(whom  I  remember  an  old  man),  an  innkeeper  at 
Banchory.  He  was  said  to  have  drank  whisky, 
glass  for  glass,  to  the  claret  of  Mr.  Maule  and  the 
Laird  of  Skene  for  a  whole  evening ;  and  in  those 
days  there  was  a  traditional  story  of  his  despatching, 
at  one  sitting,  in  company  with  a  character  celebrated 
for  conviviality  —  one  of  the  men  employed  to  float 
rafts  of  timber  down  the  Dee  —  three  dozen  of 
porter.  Of  this  Mr.  Paul  it  was  recorded,  that  on 
being  asked  if  he  considered  porter  as  a  wholesome 
beverage,  he  replied,  "  Oh  yes,  if  you  don't  take 
above  a  dozen."  Saunders  Paul  was,  as  I  have 
said,  the  innkeeper  at  Banchory  ;  his  friend  and  porter 
companion  was  drowned  in  the  Dee,  and  when  told 
that  the  body  had  been  found  down  the  stream  below 
Crathes,  he  coolly  remarked,  "  I  am  surprised  at 


46  Reminiscences  of 

that,   for  I  never  kenn'd   him  pass  the  inn  before 
without  comin*  in   for  a  glass." 

There  was  a  sort  of  infatuation  in  the  supposed 
dignity  and  manliness  attached  to  powers  of  deep 
potation,  and  the  fatal  effects  of  drinking  were 
spoken  of  in  a  manner  both  reckless  and  unfeeling. 
Thus,  I  have  been  assured  that  a  well-known  old 
laird  of  the  old  school  expressed  himself  with  great 
indignation  at  the  charge  brought  against  hard  drink- 
ing that  it  had  actually  killed  people.  "  Na,  na,  I 
never  knew  onybody  killed  wi'  drinking,  but  I  hae 
kend  some  that  deed  in  the  training."  .A  positive 
eclat  was  attached  to  the  accomplished  and  well- 
trained  consumer  of  claret  or  of  whisky  toddy,  which 
gave  an  importance  and  even  merit  to  the  practice 
of  drinking,  and  which  had  a  most  injurious  effect. 
I  am  afraid  some  of  the  Pleydels  of  the  old  school 
would  have  looked  with  the  most  ineffable  contempt 
on  the  degeneracy  of  the  present  generation  in  this 
respect,  and  that  the  temperance  movement  would  be 
little  short  of  insanity  in  their  eyes  ;  and  this  leads 
me  to  a  remark.  In  considering  this  portion  of  our 
subject,  we  should  bear  in  mind  a  distinction.  The 
change  we  now  speak  of  involves  more  than  a  mere 
change  of  a  custom  or  practice  in  social  life.  It  is 
a  change  in  men's  sentiments  and  feelings  on  a  cer- 
tain great  question  of  morals.  Except  we  enter  into 
this  distinction  we  cannot  appreciate  the  extent  of 
the  change  which  has  really  taken  place  in  regard  to 
intemperate  habits. 


Scottish  Life   fy   Character.  47 

I  have  an  anecdote  from  a  descendant  of  Prin- 
cipal Robertson,  of  an  address  made  to  him,  which 
shewed  the  real  importance  attached  to  all  that 
concerned  the  system  of  drinking  in  his  time.  The 
Principal  had  been  invited  to  spend  some  days  in  a 
country  house,  and  the  minister  of  the  parish  (a 
jovial  character)  had  been  asked  to  meet  him.  Be- 
fore dinner  he  went  up  to  Dr.  Robertson  and  ad- 
dressed him  confidentially,  u  Doctor,  I  understand 
ye  are  a  brother  of  my  gude  freend  Peter  Robertson 
of  Edinburgh,  therefore  I'll  gie  ye  a  piece  of  advice, 
—  Bend  l  weel  to  the  Madeira  at  dinner,  for  here 
ye'll  get  little  o't  after."  I  have  known  persons 
who  held  that  a  man  who  could  not  drink  must 
have  a  degree  of  feebleness  and  imbecility  of  char- 
acter. But  as  this  is  an  important  point,  I  will 
adduce  the  higher  authority  of  Lord  Cockburn,  and 
quote  from  him  two  examples,  very  different  cer- 
tainly in  their  nature,  but  both  bearing  upon  the 
question.  I  refer  to  what  he  says  of  Lord  Her- 
mand — cc  With  Hermand  drinking  was  a  virtue; 
he  had  a  sincere  respect  for  drinking,  indeed  a  high 
moral  approbation,  and  a  serious  compassion  for  the 
poor  wretches  who  could  not  indulge  in  it,  and  with 
due  contempt  of  those  who  could  but  did  not ; " 
and,  secondly,  I  refer  to  Lord  Cockburn's  pages  for 
an  anecdote  which  illustrates  the  perverted  feeling  I 
refer  to,  now  happily  no  longer  existing.  It  relates 
the  opinion  expressed  by  an  old  drunken  writer  of 

1  Old  Scotch  for  drink  hard. 


48  Reminiscences  of 

Selkirk  (whose  name  is  not  mentioned)  regarding  his 
anticipation  of  professional  success  for  Mr.  Cran- 
stoun,  afterwards  Lord  Corehouse.  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  William  Erskine,  and  Cranstoun  had  dined 
with  this  Selkirk  writer,  and  Scott,  of  hardy,  strong, 
and  healthy  frame,  had  matched  the  writer  himself 
in  the  matter  of  whisky  punch.  Poor  Cranstoun, 
of  refined  and  delicate  mental  and  bodily  tempera- 
ment, was  a  bad  hand  at  such  work,  and  was  soon 
off  the  field.  On  the  party  breaking  up,  the  Sel- 
kirk writer  expressed  his  admiration  of  Scott,  as- 
suring him  that  he  would  rise  high  in  the  pro- 
fession, and  adding :  tl  I'll  tell  ye  what,  Maister 
Walter,  that  lad  Cranstoun  may  get  to  the  tap  o* 
the  bar,  if  he  can  ;  but  tak  my  word  for't,  it's  no  be 
by  drinking." 

A  legal  friend  has  told  me  of  a  celebrated  cir- 
cuit where  Lord  Hermand  was  judge,  and  Clephane 
depute-advocate.  The  party  got  drunk  at  Ayr,  and 
so  continued  (although  quite  able  for  their  work)  till 
the  business  was  concluded  at  Jedburgh.  Some 
years  after,  my  informant  heard  that  this  circuit  had, 
at  Jedburgh,  acquired  the  -permanent  name  of  the 
"daft  circuit." 

Lord  Cockburn  was  fond  of  describing  a  circuit 
scene  at  Stirling,  in  his  early  days  at  the  bar,  under 
the  presidency  of  his  friend  and  connection  Lord 
Hermand.  After  the  circuit  dinner,  and  when 
drinking  had  gone  on  for  some  time,  young  Cock- 
burn  observed  places  becoming  vacant  in  the  social 


Scottish  Life  fy  Character.  49 

circle,  but  no  one  going  out  at  the  door.  He  found 
that  the  individuals  had  dropt  down  under  the  table. 
He  took  the  hint,  and  by  this  ruse  retired  from  the 
scene.  He  lay  quiet  till  the  beams  of  the  morning 
sun  penetrated  the  apartment.  The  judge  and  some 
of  his  stanch  friends  coolly  walked  up-stairs,  washed 
their  hands  and  faces,  came  down  to  breakfast,  and 
went  into  court  quite  fresh  and  fit  for  work. 

The  feeling  of  importance  frequently  attached 
to  powers  of  drinking,  was  formally  attested  by  a 
well-known  western  baronet  of  convivial  habits  and 
convivial  memory.  He  was  desirous  of  bearing 
testimony  to  the  probity,  honour,  and  other  high 
moral  qualities  of  a  friend  whom  he  wished  to  com- 
mend. Having  fully  stated  these  claims  to  con- 
sideration and  respect,  he  deemed  it  proper  to  notice 
also  his  convivial  attainments  ;  he  added  accordingly, 
with  cautious  approval  on  so  important  a  point, — 
u  and  he  is  a  fair  drinker."  1 

The  following  anecdote  is  an  amusing  sample 
of  Scottish  servant  humour  and  acuteness  in  measur- 
ing the  extent  of  consumption  by  a  convivial  party 
in  Forfarshire.  The  party  had  met  at  a  farmer's 
house  not  far  from  Arbroath  to  celebrate  the  recon- 

1  A  friend  learned  in  Scottish  history  suggests  an  ingenious 
remark,  that  this  might  mean  more  than  a  mere  full  drinker. 
To  drink  "  fair,"  used  to  imply  that  the  person  drank  in  the 
same  proportion  as  the  company ;  to  drink  more  would  be 
unmannerly  ;  to  drink  less  might  imply  some  unfair  motive. 
Either  interpretation  shews  the  importance  attached  to  drinking 
and  all  that  concerned  it. 


50  Reminiscences  of 

ciliation  of  two  neighbouring  farmers  who  had  long 
been  at  enmity.  The  host  was  pressing  and  hospi- 
table ;  the  party  sat  late,  and  consumed  a  glorious 
quantity  of  whisky  toddy.  The  wife  was  penurious  j 
and  grudged  the  outlay.  When  at  last,  at  a  morn- 
ing hour,  the  party  dispersed,  the  lady,  who  had  not 
slept  in  her  anxiety,  looked  over  the  stairs  and 
eagerly  asked  the  servant  girl,  "  How  many  bottles 
of  whisky  have  they  used,  Betty."  The  lass,  who 
had  not  to  pay  for  the  whisky,  but  had  been  obliged 
to  go  to  the  well  to  fetch  the  water  for  the  toddy, 
coolly  answered,  "  I  dinna  ken,  mem,  but  they've 
drunken  sax  gang  o*  watter." 

We  cannot  imagine  a  better  illustration  of  the 
general  habits  that  prevailed  in  Scottish  society  in 
regard  to  drinking  about  the  time  we  speak  of  than 
one  which  occurs  in  the  recently  published  tc  Memoirs 
of  a  Banking  House,"  that  of  the  late  Sir  William 
Forbes,  Bart.,  of  Pitsligo.  The  book  comprises 
much  that  is  interesting  to  the  family,  and  to  Scotch- 
men. It  contains  a  pregnant  hint  as  to  the  manners 
of  polite  society  and  business  habits  in  those  days. 
Of  John  Coutts,  one  of  four  brothers  connected 
with  the  house,  Sir  William  records  how  he  was 
"  more  correct  in  his  conduct  than  the  others ;  so 
much  so,  that  Sir  William  never  but  once  saw  him  in 
the  counting  house  disguised  with  liquor,  and  inca- 
pable of  transacting  business." 

I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Mr.  W.  Cham- 
bers for  the  following  graphic  illustration  of  the 


Scottish  Life  fy  Character.  _ji 

scenes  which  the  drunken  habits  of  the  time  must 
often  have  exhibited  in  social  life  :  —  In  these  bygone 
days,  Peeblesshire  had  its  due  proportion  of  "drunken 
lairds,"  who,  besides  over-indulging  in  their  own  and 
their  neighbours'  houses,  very  frequently  spent  a  night 
weekly  in  the  chief  inn  in  the  county  town  on  the 
occasion  of  attending  market.  Their  return  home 
on  horseback,  in  the  dull  gray  mornings  after  these 
coarse  convivialities  in  Peebles,  required  considerable 
tact,  as  the  roads  were  far  from  being  good,  and,  in 
some  places,  went  along  unguarded  precipitous  banks 
overhanging  the  Tweed.  There  was  a  particularly 
bad  bit  of  road  between  Peebles  and  Innerleithen. 
Here  the  river  makes  a  sudden  turn  at  the  foot  of  a 
steep  bank,  and  forms  a  deep,  dark  pool  called  "  the 
dirt-pot."  Now,  it  happened  that  a  certain  old  laird 
had  to  pass  this  trying  spot  on  his  way  home  when 
more  than  half  tipsy  ;  and  it  seems  that,  on  one  oc- 
casion, he  had  been  mortally  affronted  by  some  one 
alleging,  by  way  of  joke,  "  that  he  was  afraid  to  pass 
the  dirt-pot."  This  affront  stuck  to  the  laird.  While 
sober  the  recollection  of  it  appeared  to  be  in  abey- 
ance, but  it  always  came  back  with  full  force  when 
he  reached  a  point  of  inebriety,  and  that  was  every 
night.  Reaching  this  unhappy  crisis,  he  broke  out 
in  an  intolerably  quarrelsome  humour,  muttering  in- 
vectives on  the  subject  which  oppressed  his  mind  — 
"  Who  says  I  am  afraid  to  pass  the  dirt-pot  ?  I  say, 
shew  me  the  man  that  tells  me  I  am  afraid  to  pass 
fhe  dirt-pot  \  "  —  and  so  on  he  would  have  gone  till  he 


^2  Reminiscences  of 

became  perfectly  outrageous.  But  there  was  an  un- 
derstanding in  the  house  about  what  was  to  be  done 
on  these  occasions.  No  sooner  had  the  ominous 
words  "  dirt-pot "  escaped  the  laird's  lips,  than  the 
lady,  his  wife,  quietly  touched  the  bell.  A  servant 
entered  the  room,  and,  slipping  behind  the  laird, 
seized  hold  of  him  in  her  arms,  and  dragged  him 
off  to  bed  —  the  poor  laird  being  heard  all  the  way 
mumbling  disjointed  imprecations  against  all  who 
dared  to  say  he  was  afraid  to  pass  the  dirt-pot. 

Strangely  enough  —  indeed,  most  strange  of  all  — 
the  lady  who  had  this  unpleasant  duty  to  perform, 
actually  took  pains  to  cultivate  habits  of  drinking 
in  her  sons.  An  accomplished  and  worthy  gentle- 
woman, she  had,  nevertheless,  the  common  notion 
that  drinking  was  part  of  the  necessary  business  of 
life,  and  that  all  young  men  should  be  accustomed 
to  carry  liquor  discreetly.  Accordingly,  she  daily 
put  before  the  young  laird  a  certain  quantity  of  wine 
which  he  was  obliged  to  drink,  whether  he  liked  it 
or  not.  This  reminds  us  of  similar  practices  half  a 
century  ago  in  Ireland,  when  fathers  used  to  tell 
their  sons  "  to  make  their  head  while  they  were 
young ! " 

In  the  Highlands  this  sort  of  feeling  extended  to 
an  almost  incredible  extent,  even  so  much  as  to  ob- 
scure the  moral  and  religious  sentiments.  Of  this  a 
striking  proof  was  afforded  in  a  circumstance  which 
took  place  in  my  own  church  soon  after  I  came  into 
it.  One  of  our  Gaelic  clergy  had  so  far  forgotten 


Scottish  Life  fy  Character.  53 

himself  as  to  appear  in  the  church  somewhat  the 
worse  of  liquor.  This  having  happened  so  often  as 
to  come  to  the  ears  of  the  Bishop,  he  suspended  him 
from  the  performance  of  divine  service.  Against 
this  decision  the  people  were  a  little  disposed  to  re- 
bel, because,  according  to  their  Highland  notions, 
"  a  gentleman  was  no  the  waur  for  being  able  to 
tak  a  gude  glass  o'  whisky."  These  were  the 
notions  of  a  people  in  whose  eyes  the  power  of 
swallowing  whisky  conferred  distinction,  and  with 
whom  inability  to  take  the  fitting  quantity  was  a 
mark  of  a  mean  and  futile  character.  Sad  to  tell, 
the  funeral  rites  of  Highland  chieftains  were  not 
supposed  to  have  been  duly  celebrated  except  there 
was  an  immoderate  and  often  fatal  consumption  of 
whisky.  It  has  been  related  that  at  the  last  funeral 
in  the  Highlands,  conducted  according  to  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  olden  times,  several  of  the  guests  fell 
victims  to  the  usage,  and  actually  died  of  the  ex- 
cesses. 

Scenes  of  a  most  incongruous  and  extraordinary 
nature  are  still  traditionally  •  connected  with  such 
occasions.  Within  the  last  thirty  years,  a  laird  of 
Dundonald,  a  small  estate  in  Ross-shire,  died  at 
Inverness.  There  was  open  house,  therefore,  for  a 
few  days,  and  great  eating  and  drinking.  Here  the 
corpse  commenced  its  progress  towards  its  appointed 
home  on  the  coast,  and  people  followed  in  multitudes 
to  give  it  a  partial  convoy,  all  of  whom  had  to  be 
entertained.  It  took  altogether  a  fortnight  to  bury 


54  Reminiscences  of 

poor  Dundonald,  and  the  expense  must  have  been 
heavy.  This,  however,  is  looked  back  to  at  Inver- 
ness as  the  last  of  the  real  grand  old  Highland  funer- 
als. Such*  notions  of  what  is  due  to  the  memory  of 
the  departed  have  now  become  unusual  if  not  obso- 
lete.' I  myself  witnessed  the  first  great  change  in  this 
matter.  I  officiated  at  the  funeral  of  the  late  Duke 
of  Sutherland.  The  procession  was  a  mile  long. 
Refreshments  were  provided  for  7000  persons  :  beef, 
bread,  and  beer,  but  not  one  glass  of  whisky  was 
allowed  on  the  property  that  day  !  It  may,  perhaps, 
be  said  that  the  change  we  speak  of  is  not  pecu- 
liar to  Scotland  ;  that  in  England  the  same  change 
has  been  apparent,  and  that  drunkenness  has  passed 
away  in  the  higher  circles,  as  a  matter  of  course,  as 
refinement  and  taste  made  an  advancement  in  soci- 
ety. This  is  true.  But  there  were  some  features  of 
the  question  which  were  peculiar  to  Scotland,  and 
which  at  one  time  rendered  it  less  probable  that  in- 
temperance would  give  way  in  the  north.  It  seemed 
in  some  quarters  to  have  taken  deeper  root  amongst 
us.  The  system  of  pressing,  both  in  eating  and 
drinking,  seemed  more  inveterate.  Nothing  can  more 
powerfully  illustrate  the  deep-rooted  character  of  in- 
temperate habits  in  families  than  an  anecdote  which 
was  related  to  me,  as  coming  from  the  late  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie, author  of  the  "  Man  of  Feeling."  He  had 
been  involved  in  a  regular  drinking  party.  He  was 
keeping  as  free  from  the  usual  excesses  as  he  was 
able,  and  as  he  marked  companions  around  him  fall- 


Scottish  Life  fy  Character.  55 

ing  victims  to  the  power  of  drink,  he  himself  dropped 
off  under  the  table  ampng  the  slain,  as  a  measure 
of  precaution,  and  lying  there,  his  attention  was 
called  to  a  small  pair  of  hands  working  at  his  throat ; 
on  asking  what  it  was,  a  voice  replied,  "  Sir,  I'm  the 
lad  that's  to  lowse  the  neckcloths."  Here,  then, 
was  a  family,  where,  on  drinking  occasions,  it  was  the 
appointed  duty  of  one  of  the  household  to  attend,  and, 
when  the  guests  were  becoming  helpless,  to  untie 
their  cravats  in  fear  of  apoplexy  or  suffocation.  We 
ought  certainly  to  be  grateful  for  the  change  which 
has  taken  place  from  such  a  system  ;  for  this  change 
has  made  a  great  revolution  in  Scottish  social  life. 
The  charm  and  the  romance  long  attached  in  the 
minds  of  some  of  our  countrymen  to  the  whole 
system  and  concerns  of  hard  drinking  was  indeed 
most  lamentable  and  absurd.  At  tavern  suppers, 
where,  nine  times  out  of  ten,  it  was  the  express  object 
of  those  who  went  to  get  drunk,  such  stuff  as  "  regal 
purple  stream,"  cc  rosy  wine,"  "  quaffing  the  goblet," 
"  bright  sparkling  nectar,"  "  chasing  the  rosy  hours," 
and  so  on,  tended  to  keep  up  the  delusion,  and  make  it 
a  monstrous  fine  thing  for  men  to  sit  up  drinking  half 
the  night,  to  have  frightful  headaches  all  next  day, 
to  make  maudlin  idiots  of  themselves  as  they  went 
home,  and  to  become  brutes  amongst  their  family 
when  they  got  home.  And  here  I  may  introduce 
the  mention  of  a  practice  connected  with  the  con- 
vivial habits  of  which  we  have  been  speaking ;  but 
which  has  for  sometime  passed  away,  at  least  from 


56  Reminiscences  of 

private  tables, —  I  mean  the  absurd  system  of  calling 
for  toasts  and  sentiments  each  time  the  glasses  were 
filled.  During  dinner  not  a  drop  could  be  touched, 
except  in  conjunction  with  others,  and  with  each 
drinking  to  the  health  of  each.  But  toasts  came 
after  dinner.  I  can  just  remember  the  practice  in 
partial  operation,  and  my  astonishment  as  a  mere 
boy,  when  accidentally  dining  at  table  and  hearing  my 
mother  called  upon  to  ".give  the  company  a  gentle- 
man," is  one  of  my  very  earliest  reminiscences. 
Lord  Cockburn  must  have  remembered  them  well, 
and  I  will  quote  his  most  amusing  account  of  the 
effects:  — "  After  dinner,  and  before  the  ladies  re- 
tired, there  generally  began  what  was  called  ^-Rounds ' 
of  toasts,  when  each  gentleman  named  an  absent 
lady,  and  each  lady  an  absent  gentleman,  separately ; 
or  one  person  was  required  to  give  an  absent  lady, 
and  another  person  was  required  to  match  a  gentle- 
man with  that  lady,  and  the  persons  named  were 
toasted,  generally,  with  allusions  and  jokes  about  the 
fitness  of  the  union.  And  worst  of  all,  there  were 
*  Sentiments.'  These  were  short  epigrammatic  sen- 
tences expressive  of  moial  feelings  and  virtues,  and 
were  thought  refined  and  elegant  productions.  A 
faint  conception  of  their  nauseousness  may  be  formed 
from  the  following  examples,  every  one  of  which 
I  have  heard  given  a  thousand  times,  and  which 
indeed  I  only  recollect  from  their  being  favourites. 
The  glasses  being  filled,  a  person  was  asked  for  his 
or  for  her  sentiment,  when  this,  or  something  simi- 


Scottish  Life  fy  Character.  57 

lar,  was  committed,  c  may  the  pleasures  of  the  even- 
ing bear  the  reflections  of  the  morning;'  or,  'may 
the  friends  of  our  youth  be  the  companions  of  our 
old  age ; '  or,  '  delicate  pleasures  to  susceptible 
minds,'  c  may  the  honest  heart  never  feel  distress ;' 
4  may  the  hand  of  charity  wipe  the  tear  from  the 
eye  of  sorrow.'  The  conceited,  the  ready,  or  the 
reckless,  hackneyed  in  the  art,  had  a  knack  of  mak- 
ing new  sentiments  applicable  to  the  passing  inci- 
dents with  great  ease.  But  it  was  a  dreadful 
oppression  on  the  timid  or  the  awkward.  They 
used  to  shudder,  ladies  particularly ;  for  nobody 
was  spared  when  their  turn  in  the  round  ap- 
proached. Many  a  struggle  and  blush  did  it  cost ; 
but  this  seemed  only  to  excite  the  tyranny  of  the 
masters  of  the  craft ;  and  compliance  could  never  be 
avoided,  except  by  more  torture  than  yielding.  .  .  . 
It  is  difficult  for  those  who  have  been  born  under 
a  more  natural  system  to  comprehend  how  a  sensible 
man,  a  respectable  matron,  a  worthy  old  maid,  and 
especially  a  girl,  could  be  expected  to  go  into  com- 
pany easily,  on  such  conditions."1 

This  accompaniment  of  domestic  drinking,  I 
mean  accompanying  each  glass  by  a  toast  or  senti- 
ment—  the  practice  of  which  is  now  confined  to 
public  entertainments  — was  then  invariable  in  pri- 
vate parties,  and  was  supposed  to  enliven  and  pro- 
mote the  good  fellowship  of  the  social  circle.  Thus 

1  Lord  Cockburn's  Memorials  of  his  Time,  p.  37,  et  seq. 
3* 


58  Reminiscences  of 

Ferguson  in  one  of  his  poems,  in  describing  a  dinner, 
says  :  • — 

"  The  grace  is  said  ;  it's  nae  ower  lang, 
The  claret  reams  in  bells. 
Quo'  Deacon,  '  Let  the  toast  round  gang  ; 
Come,  here's  our  noble  sels 
Weel  met  the  day.'  " 

There  was  a  great  variety  of  these  toasts,  some 
of  them  exclusively  Scottish.  A  correspondent  has 
favoured  me  with  a  few  reminiscences  of  such  in- 
centives to  inebriety. 

The  ordinary  form  of  drinking  a  health  was  in 
the  address,  "  Here's  t'  ee." 

Then  such  as  the  following  were  named  by  suc- 
cessive members  of  the  company  at  the  call  of  the 
host :  — 

7%e  land  o'  cakes  (Scotland). 

Mair  freens  and  less  need  o'  them. 

'Thumping  luck  and  fat  iveans. 

When  "we're  gaun   up   the  hill  o'  fortune    may    <we   ne'er 

meet  a  frien'  comin  doun. 
May  ne'er  ivaur  be  amang  us. 
May  the   hinges  o'  friendship   never   rust,  or   the  'wings  o' 

lu<ve  lose  a  feather. 

Here's  to  them  that  lo'es  us,  or  lends  us  a  lift. 
Here's   health  to   the  sick,  stilts   to   the  lam.e,  claise  to  the 

back,  and  brose  to  the  ijoame. 
Here's  health,  'wealth,  ewit,  and  meal. 
'The  deil  rock  them  in  a  creel  that  does  na'  ewish  us  a*  fweel. 
Horny  hands  and  "weather  beaten  haffets  (cheeks). 
TTie  rending  o'  rocks  and  the  pu'in  doun  o'  auld  houses. 


Scottish  Life  fy  Character.  59 

The  above  two  belong  to  the  mason  craft ;  the 
first  implies  a  wish  for  plenty  of  work,  and  health 
to  do  it;  the  second,  to  erect  new  buildings  and 
clear  away  old  ones. 

May  the  "winds  o'  adversity  ne'er  blaw  open  our  door. 
May  poortitb  ne'er  throw  us  in  the  dirt,  or  gowd  into  the 

high  saddled 
May.  the  mouse  ne'er  leave  our  meal  pock  w?  the  tear  in 

its  ee. 

Blythe  may  we  a*  be, 
III  may  we  never  see. 
Breeks  and  brochan  (brose). 

May  we  ne'er  want  a  freend  or  a  drappie  to  gie  him. 
Gude  een  to  ye  a',  an'  tak  your  nappy ', 
A  willy-waught 's  a  gude  night  cappy.% 
May  we  a'  be  canty  and  cozy. 
An'  ilk  hae  a  wife  in  his  bozy. 
A  cozy  but,  and  a  canty  be?i, 
"To  couthie 3  women  and  trusty  men. 
7%e  ingle  neuk  wi'  routh&  o'  bannocks  and  bairns. 
Here's  to  him  wha  winna  beguile  ye. 
Mair  sense  and  mair  siller, 
Horn,  eorn,  wool,  an'  yarn.5 

The  system  of  giving  toasts  was  so  regularly 
established,  that  collections  of  them  were  published 
to  add  brilliancy  to  the  festive  board.  By  the  kind- 
ness of  the  librarian,  I  have_seen  a  little  volume 
which  is  in  the  Writers'  Library  of  Edinburgh.  It 

1  May   we   never  be   cast   down   by   adversity,    or   unduly 
elevated  by  prosperity.    ; 

2  A  toast  at  parting  or  breaking  up  of  the  party. 

3  Loving.         *  Plenty.          5  Toasts  for  agricultural  dinners. 


60  Reminiscences  of 

is  entitled  "  The  Gentleman's  New  Bottle  Com 
panion,"  Edinburgh,  printed  in  the  year  MDCCLXXVII. 
It  contains  various  toasts  and  sentiments  which  the 
writer  considered  to  be  suitable  to  such  occasions. 
Of  the  taste  and  decency  of  the  companies  where 
some  of  them  could  be  made  use  of,  the  less  is  said 
the  better. 

L  have  heard  also  of  large  traditionary  collections 
of  toasts  and  sentiments  belonging  to  old  .clubs  and 
societies  extending  back  above  a  century,  but  I  have 
not  seen  any  of  them,  and  I  believe  my  readers  will 
think  they  have  had  quite  enough.  A  correspondent, 
however,  to  whom  I  applied  respecting  these  minute 
books,  sends  me  the  following  curious  information  : — 

"  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  a  series  of 
Records  of  an  Edinburgh  Club,  extending  from  the  middle  to 
the  close  of  the  last  century,  in  which  many  social  changes 
are  exhibited  year  after  year.  Its  rules  were  clearly  laid  down 
and  rigorously  enforced.  Fines  for  non-attendance  at  the 
club  meetings  were  in  all  cases  rigidly  exacted,  and  if  any 
man  left  the  supper-table  before  the  '  serious  drinking'  began, 
he  was  fined  instanter  in  four  magnums  of  claret.  When 
whisky  or  usquebaugh  was  first  used  as  a  social  drink  I  have 
no  means  of  knowing.  I  do  not  know  that  the  earlier  Scot- 
tish poets  allude  to  it  at  all,  and  I  think  that  Ferguson  and 
Burns  are  the  first  to  sing  its  praises.  In  these  '  records'  the 
first  mention  of  '  a  gile  of  whisko  '  at  the  club  supper  is  in 
the  year  1767,  and  toddy  is  not  included  in  their  bills  of  fare 
until  a  year  later,  and  then  only  in  small  quantities  (except, 
indeed,  in  one  instance,  when  the  club  is  charged  for  forty- 
two  bottles  of  '  todie  '  at  one  sitting  !)  French  wines  are  the 
favourite  drinks. 


Scottish  Life  fy  Character.  61 

"  A  Solan  goose  figures  occasionally  at  their  suppers,  and 
is  charged  TOJ.  Some  of  the  members  prefer  '  speldings  '  to 
anchovies,  and  there  are  very  suggestive  items  in  each  bill  for 
broken  glasses  and  china,  as  well  as  for  '  chairs  and  cadies  ' 
(sedans  and  their  bearers),  for  the  use  of  those  members  who 
found  it  inconvenient  to  walk  home.  One  of  these  jovial 
club  supper  bills  (sometimes  they  are  of  alarming  magnitude), 
now  lies  before  me,  stained  by  the  wine  spilled  by  unsteady 
hands  a  century  ago,  and  its  margins  scrawled  over,  with  the 
somewhat  eccentric  calculations  as  to  the  liability  of  each 
member,  by  the  chairman  of  the  evening,  who  no  doubt  had 
presided  with  his  usual  distinguished  ability,  '  and  kept  the 
company  long  together  in  the  most  exalted  degree  of  har- 
mony and  good  humour,'  as  it  is  entered  in  the  minutes  of  the 
evening.  It  may  interest  some  readers  to  see  a  true  copy  of  a 
last  century  tavern  supper  bill  for  a  club  of  sixteen  and  a  few 
guests.  It  is  worth  remarking  that  each  pint  stoup  of  claret 
contained  as  much  as  two  quart  bottles  !  !  " 

1783,  To  John  Fortune. 

June  "4.  Supper,  Jellies,  and  Sillubobs  .  .  £4.  10  „ 
25  Pints  Claret,  at  io/.  .  ,  .  .  12  10  ,, 
4  Botls.  Sherry,  at  31.  .  .  .  „  15  „ 

7  Do.  Port,  at  T.S.  6d.  .  .  .  .  „  17  6 
Port  Negus  .  .  .  .  .  „  18  „ 

Porter  ,,56 

Punch  and  Todie  .  .  .  .  „  12  „ 
Bread  and  beer  .  .  .  .  .,,76 

Biscuits,  &c. ,,46 

Prawns  .         .         .         .         .         .       „     4     ,, 

Grangers,  reasons,  and  almons  .  .  „  14  „ 
Chairs  and  Cadies  .  .  .  „  12  6 

Drink  to  the  Officer  and  Cadies  .  .,,76 

Breakages ,,46 

Wax  Lights  12,, 

^24     4     6 


62  Reminiscences  of 

The  favourable  reaction  which  has  taken  place  in 
regard  to  the  whole  system  of  intemperance  may 
very  fairly,  in  the  first  place,  be  referred  to  an  im- 
proved moral  feeling.  But  other  causes  have  also 
assisted ;  and  it  is  curious  to  observe  how  the  differ- 
ent changes  in  the  modes  of  society  bear  upon  one 
another.  The  alteration  in  the  convivial  habits 
which  we  are  noticing  in  our  own  country  may  be 
partly  due  to  alteration  of  hours.  The  old  plan 
of  early  dining  favoured  a  system  of  suppers,  and 
after  supper  was  a  great  time  for  convivial  songs 
and  sentiments.  This  of  course  induced  drinking 
to  a  late  hour.  Most  drinking  songs  imply  the 
night  as  the  season  of  conviviality — thus  in  a  pop- 
ular madrigal :  — 

"  By  the  gaily  circling  glass, 
We  can  tell  how  minutes  pass, 
By  the  hollow  cask  we  're  told, 
How  the  waning  night  grows  old." 

And  Burns  thus  marks  the  time  :  — 

"  It  is  the  moon,  I  ken  her  horn, 
That 's  blinkin'  in  the  lift  sae  hie ; 
She  shines  sae  bright,  to  wyle  us  hame, 
But  by  my  sooth  she  '11  wait  a  wee." 

The  young  people  of  the  present  day  have  no 
idea  of  the  state  of  matters  in  regard  to  the  supper 
system  when  it  was  the  normal  condition  of  society. 
The  late  dining  hours  may  make  the  social  circle 


Scottish   Life   fy   Character.  63 

more  formal,  but  they  have  been  far  less  favourable 
to  drinking  propensities.  After  such  dinners  as  ours 
are  now,  suppers  are  clearly  out  of  the  question. 
One  is  astonished  to  look  back  and  recal  the  scenes 
to  which  were  attached  associations  of  hilarity,  con- 
viviality, and  enjoyment.  Drinking  parties  were 
protracted  beyond  the  whole  Sunday,  having  begun 
by  a  dinner  on  Saturday ;  imbecility  and  prostrate 
helplessness  were  a  common  result  of  these  bright 
and  jovial  scenes  ;  and  by  what  perversion  of  lan- 
guage, or  by  what  obliquity  of  sentiment,  the  notions 
of  pleasure  could  be  attached  to  scenes  of  such  ex- 
cess—  to  the  nausea,  the  disgust  of  sated  appetite, 
and  the  racking  headache  —  it  is  not  easy  to  explain. 
There  were  men  of  heads  so  hard,  and  of  stomachs 
so  insensible,  that,  like  my  friend  Saunders  Paul, 
they  could  stand  anything  in  the  way  of  drink. 
But  to  men  in  general,  and  to  the  more  delicate 
constitutions,  such  a  life  must  have  been  a  cause 
of  great  misery.  To  a  certain  extent,  and  up  to 
a  certain  point,  wine  may  be  a  refreshment  and  a 
wholesome  stimulant ;  nay,  it  is  a  medicine,  and 
a  valuable  one,  and  as  such,  comes  recommended 
on  fitting  occasions  by  the  physician.  Beyond  this 
point,  as  sanctioned  and  approved  by  nature,  the 
use  of  wine  is  only  degradation.  Well  did  the 
sacred  writer  call  wine,  when  thus  taken  in  excess, 
"  a  mocker."  It  makes  all  men  equal,  because  it 
makes  them  all  idiotic.  It  allures  them  into  a 
vicious  indulgence,  and  then  mocks  their  folly,  by 


64  Reminiscences,  etc. 

depriving  them  of  any  sense  they  may  ever  have 
possessed. 

It  does  not  appear  that  at  this  time  a  similar  ex- 
cess in  eating  accompanied  this  prevalent  tendency 
to  excess  in  drinking.  Scottish  tables  were  at  that 
period  plain  and  abundant,  but  epicurism  or  gluttony 
do  not  seem  to  have  been  handmaids  to  drunkenness. 
A  humorous  anecdote,  however,  of  a  full-eating 
laird,  may  well  accompany  those  which  appertain 
to  the  drinking  lairds.  —  A  lady  in  the  north  having 
watched  the  proceedings  of  a  guest,  who  ate  long 
and  largely,  she  ordered  the  servant  to  take  away, 
as  he  had  at  last  laid  down  his  knife  and  fork. 
To  her  surprise,  however,  he  resumed  his  work, 
and  she  apologised  to  him,  saying,  "I  thought, 

Mr.    ,    you    had    done."     "  Oh,    so    I    had, 

mem  ;  but  I  just  fan'  a  doo  in  the  redd  o'  my 
plate."  He  had  discovered  a  pigeon  lurking 
amongst  the  bones  and  refuse  of  his  plate,  and 
could  not  resist  finishing  it. 


CHAPTER  III. 
ON  THE  OLD  SCOTTISH  DOMESTIC  SERVANT. 

jE  come  now  to  a  subject  on  which  a 
great  change  has  taken  place  in  this 
country  during  my  own  experience.  I 
allude  to  the  third  division  which  we 
proposed  of  these  desultory  remarks,  viz.,  those 
peculiarities  of  intercourse  which  some  years  back 
marked  the  connection  between  masters  and  ser- 
vants. In  many  Scottish  houses  a  great  familiarity 
prevailed  between  members  of  the  family  and  the 
domestics.  For  this  many  reasons  might  have  been 
assigned.  Indeed,  when  we  consider  the  simple 
modes  of  life  which  discarded  the  ideas  of  cere- 
mony or  etiquette,  the  retired  and  uniform  style 
of  living  which  afforded  few  opportunities  for  break 
or  change  in  the  domestic  arrangements,  and  when 
we  add  to  these  a  free,  unrestrained,  unformal, 
and  natural  style  of  intercommunion,  which  seems 
rather  a  national  characteristic,  we  need  not  be  sur- 
prised to  find  in  quiet  Scottish  families  a  sort  of 


66  Reminiscences  of 

intercourse  with  old  domestics  which  can  hardly  be 
looked  for  now,  when  habits  are  changing  so  fast, 
and  where  much  of  the  quiet  eccentricity  belonging 
to  us  as  a  national  characteristic,  is  almost  neces- 
sarily softened  down  or  driven  out.  Many  circum- 
stances thus  conspired  to  promote  familiarity  with 
old  domestics  which  are  now  entirely  changed.  We 
take  the  case  of  a  middle-aged  servant,  or  a  young  ser- 
vant passing  year  after  year  in  a  family.  The  servant 
grows  up  into  old  age  and  confirmed  habits  when  the 
laird  is  becoming  a  man,  a  husband,  father  of  a  fam- 
ily. The  domestic  cannot  forget  the  days  when  his 
master  was  a  child,  riding  on  his  back,  applying  to 
him  for  help  in  difficulties  about  his  fishing,  his  rab- 
bits, his  pony,  his  going  to  school.  All  the  family 
know  how  attached  he  is  ;  nobody  likes  to  speak 
cross  to  him.  He  is  a  privileged  man.  The  faith- 
ful old  servant  of  thirty,  forty,  or  fifty  years,  if  with 
a  tendency  to  be  jealous,  cross,  and  interfering,  be- 
comes a  great  nuisance.  Still  the  relative  position 
was  the  result  of  good  feelings.  If  the  familiarity 
sometimes  became  a  nuisance,  it  was  a  wholesome 
nuisance,  and  relic  of  a  simpler  time  gone  by.  -  But 
the  case  of  the  old  servant,  whether  agreeable  or 
troublesome,  was  often  so  fixed  and  established  in 
the  households  of  past  days,  that  there  was  scarce  a 
possibility  of  getting  away  from  it.  The  well-known 
story  of  the  answer  of  one  of  these  domestic  tyrants 
to  the  irritated  master,  who  was  making  an  effort  to 
free  himself  from  the  thraldom,  shews  the  idea  en- 


'   Scottish  Life  fy  Character.  67 

tertained  by  one  of  the  parties,  at  least,  of  the  per- 
manency of  the  tenure.  I  am  assured  by  a  friend 
that  the  true  edition  of  the  story  was  this  —  An  old 
Mr.  Erskine  of  Dun  had  one  of  these  old  retainers, 
under  whose  language  and  unreasonable  assumption 
he  had  long  groaned.  He  had  almost  determined  to 
bear  it  no  longer,  when,  walking  out  with  his  man,  on 
crossing  a  field,  the  master  exclaimed,  "  There's  a 
hare."  Andrew  looked  at  the  place,  and  coolly  re- 
plied, "  What  a  big  lee,  it's  a  cauff."  The  master, 
quite  angry  now,  plainly  told  the  old  domestic  that 
they  must  part.  But  the  tried  servant  of  forty  years, 
not  dreaming  of  the  possibility  of  bis  dismissal,  inno- 
cently asked,  "  Ay,  sir;  whare  ye  gdhm  ?  I'm  sure 
ye're  aye  best  at  hame;"  supposing  that,  if  there 
were  to  be  any  disruption,  it  must  be  the  master  who 
would  change  the  place.  An  example  of  a  similar 
fixedness  of  tenure  in  an  old  servant  was  afforded  in 
an  anecdote  related  of  an  old  coachman  long  in  the 
service  of  a  noble  lady,  and  who  gave  all  the  trouble 
and  annoyance  which  he  conceived  were  the  privi- 
leges of  his  position  in  the  family.  At  last  the  lady 
fairly  gave  him  notice  to  quit,  and  told  him  he  must 
go.  The  only  satisfaction  she  got  was  the  quiet 
answer,  "  Na,  na,  my  lady ;  I  druve  ye  to  your  mar- 
riage, and  I  shall  stay  to  drive  ye  to  your  burial." 
It  is  but  fair,  however,  to  give  an  anecdote  in  which 
the  master  and  the  servant's  position  was  reversed^  in 
regard  to  the  wish  for  change  :  —  An  old  servant  of 
a  relative  of  my  own,  with  an  ungovernable  temper, 


68  Reminiscences  of 

became  at  last  so  weary  of  his  master's  irascibility, 
that  he  declared  he  must  leave,  and  gave  as  his  rea- 
son the  fits  of  anger  which  came  on  and  produced 
such  great  ^annoyance  that  he  could  not  stand  it  any 
longer.  His  master,  unwilling  to  lose  him,  tried  to 
coax  him  by  reminding  him  that  the  anger  was  soon 
off.  "  Ay,"  replied  the  other  very  shrewdly,  "  but  it's 
nae  suner  aff  than  it's  on  again."  I  remember  well 
an  old  servant  of  the  old  school,  who  had  been  fifty 
years  domesticated  in  a  family.  Indeed  I  well  re- 
member the  celebration  of  the  half-century  service 
completed.  There  were  rich  scenes  with  Sandy  and 
his  mistress.  Let  me  recall  you  both  to  memory. 
Let  me  think  of  you,  the  kind,  generous,  warm- 
hearted mistress.  A  gentlewoman  by  descent  and 
by  feeling.  A  true  friend,  a  sincere  Christian  ;  and 
let  me  think,  too,  of  you,  Sandy,  an  honest,  faithful, 
and  attached  member  of  the  family.  For  you  were 
in  that  house  rather  as  an  humble  friend  than  a  ser- 
vant. But  out  of  this  fifty  years  of  attached  service 
there  sprung  a  sort  of  domestic  relation  and  freedom 
of  intercourse  which  would  surprise  people  in  these 
days.  And  yet  Sandy  knew  his  place.  Like  Cor- 
poral Trim,  who,  although  so  familiar  and  admitted 
•to  so  much  familiarity  with  my  Uncle  Toby,  never 
failed  in  the  respectful  address — never  forgot  to 
say  "  your  honour."  At  a  dinner  party  Sandy  was 
very  active  about  changing  his  mistress's  plate,  and 
whipped  it  off  when  he  saw  that  she  had  got  a  piece 
of  rich  pattee  upon  it.  His  mistress  not  liking  such 


Scottish  Life  fy  Character.  69 

rapid  movements,  and  at  the  same  time  knowing 
that  remonstrance  was  in  vain,  exclaimed,  "  Hout, 
Sandy,  I'm  no  dune,"  and  dabbed  her  fork  into  the 
pattee  as  it  disappeared,  to  rescue  a  morsel.  I  re- 
member her  praise  of  English  mutton  was  a  great 
annoyance  to  the  Scottish  prejudices  of  Sandy.  One 
day  she  was  telling  me  of  a  triumph  Sandy  had  upon 
that  subject.  The  smell  of  the  joint  roasting  had 
become  very  offensive  through  the  house.  The  lady 
called  out  to  Sandy  to  have  the  doors  closed,  and 
adding,  "  that  must  be  some  horrid  Scotch  mutton 
you  have  got."  To  Sandy's  delight,  this  was  a  leg 
of  English  mutton  his  mistress  had  expressly  chosen, 
and,  as  she  significantly  told  me,  "  Sandy  never  let 
that  down  upon  me." 

On  Deeside  there  existed,  in  my  recollection,  be- 
sides the  Saunders  Paul  I  have  alluded  to,  a  number 
of  extraordinary  acute  and  humorous  Scottish  char- 
acters amongst  the  lower  classes.  The  native  gen- 
try enjoyed  their  humour,  and  hence  arose  a  familiar- 
ity of  intercourse  which  called  forth  -  many  amusing 
scenes  and  quaint  rejoinders.  A  celebrated  char- 
acter of  this  description  bore  the  sobriquet  of 
u  Boaty."  He  had  acted  as  Charon  of  the  Dee  at 
Banchory,  and  passed  the  boat  over  the  river  before 
there  was  a  bridge.  Boaty  had  many  curious  sayings 
recorded  of  him.  When  speaking  of  the  gentry 
around,  he  characterized  them  according  to  their  oc- 
cupations and  activity  of  habits  — thus,  "  As  to  Mr. 
Russell  of  Blackha',  he  just  works  himsell  like  a 


70  Reminiscences  of 

paid  labourer;  Mr.  Duncan's  a'  the  day  fish,  fish  ; 
but  Sir  Robert  's  a  perfect  gentleman ;  he  does  nae- 
thing,  naething."  Boaty  was  a  first-rate  salmon- 
fisher  himself,  and  was  much  sought  after  by  ama- 
teurs who  came  to  Banchory  for  the  sake  of  the 
sport  afforded  by  the  beautiful  Dee.  He  was,  per- 
haps, a  little  spoiled,  and  presumed  upon  the  indul- 
gence and  familiarity  shewn  to  him  in  the  way  of  his 
craft,  —  as,  for  example,  he  was  in  attendance  with 
his  boat  on  a  sportsman  who  was  both  skilful  and 
successful,  for  he  caught  salmon  after  salmon.  Be- 
tween each  fish  catching  he  solaced  himself  with 
a  good  pull  from  a  flask,  which  he  returned  to  his 
pocket,  however,  without  offering  to  let  Boaty  have 
any  participation  in  the  refreshment.  Boaty,  partly 
a  little  professionally  jealous,  perhaps,  at  the  success, 
and  partly  indignant  at  receiving  less  than  his  usual 
attention  on  such  occasions,  and  seeing  no  prospect 
of  amendment,  deliberately  pulled  the  boat  to  shore, 
shouldered  the  oars,  rods,  landing-nets,  and  all  the 
fishing  apparatus  which  he  had  provided,  and  set  off 
homewards.  His  companion,  far  from  considering 
his  day's  work  to  be  over,  and  keen  for  more  sport, 
was  amazed,  and  peremptorily  ordered  him  to  come 
back.  But  all  the  answer  made  by  the  offended 
Boaty  was,  "  Na,  na ;  them  'at  drink  by  themsells 
may  just  fish  by  themsells." 

The  charge  these  old  domestics  used  to  take  of  the 
interests  of  the  family,  and  the  cool  way  in  which 
they  took  upon  them  to  protect  those  interests,  some- 


Scottish  Life  fy  Character.  71 

times  led  to  very  provoking,  and  sometimes  to  very 
ludicrous  exhibitions  of  importance.  A  friend  told 
me  of  a  dinner  scene  illustrative  of  this  sort  of  inter- 
ference which  had  happened  at  Airth  in  the  last 
generation.  Mrs.  Murray  of  Abercairney  had  been 
amongst  the  guests,  and  at  dinner  one  of  the  family 
noticed  that  she  was  looking  for  the  proper  spoon  to 
help  herself  with  salt.  The  old  servant  Thomas  was 
appealed  to,  that  the  want  might  be  supplied.  He 
did  not  notice  the  appeal.  It  was  repeated  in  a  more 
peremptory  manner,  "  Thomas,  Mrs.  Murray  has 
not  a  salt  spoon,"  to  which  he  replied  most  emphati- 
cally, "  Last  time  Mrs.  Murray  dined  here,  we  lost 
a  salt  spoon."  An  old  servant  who  took  a  similar 
charge  of  everything  that  went  on  in  the  family,  hav- 
ing observed  that  his  master  thought  he  had  drunk 
wine  with  every  lady  at  table,  but  had  overlooked 
one,  jogged  his  memory  with  the  question,  "  What 
ails  ye  at  her  wi'  the  green  gown  ?  " 

In  my  own  family  I  know  a  case  of  a  very  long 
service,  and  where,  no  doubt,  there  was  much  interest 
and  attachment,  but  it  was  a  case  where  the  temper 
had  not  softened  under  the  influence  of  years,  but 
had  rather  assumed  that  form  of  disposition  which 
we  denominate  crusty.  My  grand-uncle,  Sir  A.  Ram- 
say, died  in  1806,  and  left  a  domestic  who  had  been 
in  his  service  since  he  was  ten  years  of  age ;  and 
being  at  the  time  of  his  master's  death  past  fifty  or' 
well  on  to  sixty,  he  must  have  been  more  than  forty 
years  a  servant  in  the  family.  From  the  retired  life 


72  Reminiscences    of 

my  grand-uncle  had  been  leading,  Jamie  Layal  had 
much  of  his  own  way,  and,  like  many  a  domestic  so 
situated,  he  did  not  like  to  be  contradicted,  and,  in 
fact,  could  not  bear  to  be  found  fault  with.  My 
uncle,  who  had  succeeded  to  a  part  of  my  grand-un- 
cle's property,  succeeded  also  to  Jamie  Layal,  and 
from  respect  to  his  late  master's  memory  and  Jamie's 
own  services,  he  took  him  into  his  house,  intending 
him  to  act  as  house  servant.  However,  this  did  not 
answer,  and  he  was  soon  kept  on,  more  with  the 
form  than  the  reality  of  any  active  duty,  and  took 
any  light  work  that  was  going  on  about  the  house. 
In  this  capacity  it  was  his  daily  task  to  feed  a  flock 
of  turkeys  who  were  growing  up  to  maturity.  On 
one  occasion,  my  aunt  having  followed  him  in  his 
work,  and  having  observed  an  enormous  waste  of 
food,  and  that  the  ground  was  actually  covered  with 
grain  which  they  could  not  eat,  and  which  would 
soon  be  destroyed  and  lost,  naturally  remonstrated, 
and  suggested  a  more  reasonable  and  provident  sup- 
ply. But  all  the  answer  she  got  from  the  offended 
Jamie  was  a  bitter  rejoinder,  "  Weel,  then,  neist 
time  they  shall  get  nane  ava !  "  On  another  occa- 
sion a  family  from  a  distance  had  called  whilst,  my 
uncle  and  aunt  were  out  of  the  house.  Jamie  came 
into  the  parlour  to  deliver  the  cards,  or  to  announce 
that  they  had  called.  My  aunt,  somewhat  vexed  at 
not  having  been  in  the  way,  inquired  what  message 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Innes  had  left,  as  she  had  expected 
one.  "  No  !  no  message."  She  returned  to  the 


Scottish    Life   fy    Character.  73 

charge,  and  asked  again  if  they  had  not  told  him 
anything  he  was  to  repeat.  Still,  "  No !  no  mes- 
sage." "  But  did  they  say  nothing  ?  Are  you  sure 
they  said  nothing  ?  "  Jamie,  sadly  put  out  and  of- 
fended at  being  thus  interrogated,  at  last  burst  forth, 
"  They  neither  said  ba  nor  bum,"  and  indignantly 
left  the  room,  banging  the  door  after  him.  A  char- 
acteristic anecdote  of  one  of  these  old  domestics  I 
have  from  a  friend  who  was  acquainted  with  the  par- 
ties concerned.  The  old  man  was  standing  at  the 
sideboard  and  attending  to  the  demands  of  a  pretty 
large  dinner  party  ;  the  calls  made  for  various  wants 
from  the  company  became  so  numerous  and  frequent 
that  the  attendant  got  quite  bewildered,  and  lost  his 
patience  and  temper  j  at  length  he  gave  vent  to  his 
indignation  in  a  remonstrance  addressed'to  the  whole 
company,  "  Cry  a'  thegither,  that's  the  way  to  be 
served." 

I  have  two  characteristic  and  dry  Scottish  an- 
swers, traditional  in  the  Lothian  family,  supplied  to 
me  by  the  present  excellent  and  highly  gifted  young 
Marquis.  A  Marquis  of  Lothian  of  a  former  gen- 
eration, observed  in  his  walk  two  workmen  very  busy 
with  a  ladder  to  reach  a  bell,  on  which  they  next 
kept  up  a  furious  ringing.  He  asked  what  was  the 
object  of  making  such  a  din  ;  to  which  the  answer 
was,  "  Oh,  juist,  my  lord,  to  ca'  the  workmen  togeth- 
er." "  Why,  how  many  are  there  ?  "  asked  his  lord- 
ship. "  Ou,  just  Sandy  and  me,"  was  the  quiet 
rejoinder.  The  same  Lord  Lothian,  looking  about 
4 


74  Reminiscences   of 

the. garden,  directed  his  gardener's  attention  to  a  par- 
ticular plum-tree,  charging  him  to  be  careful  of  the 
produce  of  that  tree,  and  send  the  whole  of  it  in 
marked,  as  it  was  of  a  very  particular  kind.  "  Ou," 
said  the  gardener,  "I'll  do  that,  my  lord  ;  there's 
juist  twa  o'  them." 

These  dry  answers  of  Newbattle  servants  remind 
us  of  a  similar  state  of  communication  in  a  Yester 
domestic.  Lord  Tweeddale  was  very  fond  of  dogs, 
and  on  leaving  Yester  for  London, -he  instructed  his 
head  keeper,  a  quaint  bodie,  to  give  him  a  periodical 
report  of  the  kennel,  and  particulars  of  his  favourite 
dogs.  Among  the  latter  was  an  especial  one,  of  the 
true  Skye  breed,  called  "  Pickle,"  from  which  so- 
briquet we  may  form  a.  pretty  good  judge  of  his 
qualities. 

It  happened  one  day,  in  or  about  the  year  1827, 
that  poor  Pickle  during  the  absence  of  his  master 
•was  taken  unwell;  and  the  watchful  guardian  im- 
mediately warned  the  marquis  of  the  sad  fact,  (and 
of  the  progress  of  the  disease,)  which  lasted  three 
days  —  for  which  he  sent  the  three  following  lacon- 
ic despatches  — 

Tester,  May  ist,  18— . 

MY  LORD, 

Pickle's  no  weel. 

Your  Lordship's  humble  servant,  etc. 

Tester,  -id  May  18  — . 
MY  LORD, 

Pickle  will  no  do  ! 

I  am  your  Lordship's,  etc. 


Scottish   Life   fy    Character.  75 

Tester ',  3^  May  18  — . 
MY  LORD, 

Pickle's  dead  ! 

I  am  your  Lordship's,  etc. 

I  have  heard  of  an  old  Forfarshire  lady  who, 
knowing  the  habits  of  her  old  and  spoilt  servant, 
when  she  wished  a  note  to  be  taken  without  loss  of 
time,  held  it  open  and  read  it  over  to  him,  saying, 
"  There,  noo,  Andrew,  ye  ken  a'  that's  in't ;  noo 
dinna  stop  to  open  it,  but  just  send  it  aff."  Of 
another  servant  when  sorely  tried  by  an  unaccus- 
tomed bustle  and  hurry,  a  very  amusing  anecdote 
has  been  recorded.  His  mistress,  a  woman  of  high 
rank,  who  had  been  living  in  much  quiet  and  retire- 
ment for  some  time,  was  called  upon  to  entertain  a 
large  party  at  dinner.  She  consulted  with  Nichol, 
her  faithful  servant,  and  all  the  arrangements  were 
made  for  the  great  event.  As  the  company  were 
arriving,  the  lady  saw  Nichol  running  about  in  great 
agitation,  and  in  his  shirt  sleeves.  She  remonstrated, 
and  said  that  as  the  guests  were  coming  in  he  must 
put  on  his  coat.  u  Indeed,  my  lady,"  was  his  ex- 
cited reply,  "  indeed,  there's  sae  muckle  rinning  here 
and  rinning  there,  that  Fm  juist  distrackit.  I  hae 
cuist'n  my  coat  and  waistcoat,  and  faith  I  dinna  ken 
how  lang  I  can  thole l  my  breeks."  There  is  often  a 
ready  wit  in  this  class  of  character,  marked  by  their 
replies.  I  have  the  following  communicated  from  an 
ear  witness  :  "  Weel,  Peggy,"  said  a  man  to  an  old 
*amily  servant,  "  I  wonder  yer  aye  single  yet  ? " 
i  Bear. 


• 

76  Reminiscences  of 

"  Me  marry,"  said  she  indignantly  ;  "  I  wadna  gie 
my  single  life  for  a'  the  double  anes  I  ever  saw." 

An  old  woman  was  exhorting  a  servant  once  about 
her  ways.  "  You  serve  the  deevil,"  said  she. 
"  Me  !  "  said  the  girl ;  "  Na,  na,  I  dinna  serve  the 
deevil,  I  serve  ae  single  lady." 

A  baby  was  out  with  the  nurse,  who  walked  it  up 
and  down  a  garden.  "  Is't  a  laddie  or  a  lassie  ?  "  said 
the  gardener.  "  A  laddie,"  said  the  maid.  "  Weel," 
says  he,  "  I'm  glad  o'  that,  for  there's  ower  mony 
women  in  the  world."  "  Hech,  man,"  said  Jess, "  div 
ye  no  ken  there's  aye  maist  sawn  o'  the  best  crap  ? " 

The  answers  of  servants  used  curiously  to  illus- 
trate habits  and  manners  of  the  time,  —  as  the 
economical  modes  of  her  mistress'  life  were  well 
touched  by  the  lass  who  thus  described  her  ways  and 
domestic  habits  with  her  household  :  "  She's  vicious 
upo'  the  wark  :  but  eh,  she's  vary  mysterious  o'  the 
victualling." 

A  country  habit  of  making  the  gathering  of  the 
congregation  in  the  churchyard  previous  to  and  after 
divine  service  an  occasion  for  gossip  and  business, 
which  I  remember  well,  is  thoroughly  described  in 
the  following  :  —  A  lady,  .on  hiring  a  servant-girl  in 
the  country,  told  her,  as  a  great  indulgence,  that  she 
should  have  the  liberty  of  attending  the  church  every 
Sunday,  but  that  she  would  be  expected  to  return 
home  always  immediately  on  the  conclusion  of  ser- 
vice. The  lady,  however,  rather  unexpectedly  found 
a  positive  objection  raised  against  this  apparently 


Scottish.  Life   fy   Character.  77 

reasonable  arrangement.  "  Then  I  canna  engadge 
wi'  ye,  mem  ;  for  'deed  I  wadna  gie  the  crack  i'  the 
kirkyard  for  a'  the  sermon." 

The  changes  that  many  of  us  have  lived  to  wit- 
ness in  this  kind  of  intercourse  between  families  and 
old  servants  is  a  part  of  a  still  greater  change  —  the 
change  in  that  modification  of  the  feudal  system,  the 
attachment  of  clans.  This,  also,  from  transfers  of 
property  and  extinction  of  old  families  in  the  High- 
lands, as  well  as  from  more  general  causes,  is  passing 
away  ;  and  it  includes  also  changes  in  the  intercourse 
between  landed  proprietors  and  cottagers,  and  aboli- 
tion of  harvest  homes,  and  such  meetings.  People  are 
now  more  independent  of  each  other,  and  service 
is  become  a  pecuniary  and  not  a  sentimental  ques- 
tion. The  extreme  contrast  of  that  old-fashioned 
Scottish  intercourse  of  families  with  their  servants 
and  dependents,  of  which  I  have  given  some  amus- 
ing examples,  is  found  in  the  modern  manufactory 
system.  There  the  service  is  a  mere  question  of 
personal  interest.  One  of  our  first  practical  engi- 
neers, and  one  of  the  first  engine-makers  in  Eng- 
land, told  my  brother  that  he  employed  and  paid 
handsomely  on  an  average  I20O  workmen  ;  but  that 
they  held  so  little  feeling  for  him  as  their  master, 
that  not  above  half  a  dozen  of  the  number  would 
notice  him  when  passing  him,  either  in  the  works  or 
out  of  work  hours.  Contrast  this  advanced  stage 
of  dependents'  indifference  with  the  familiarity  of 
domestic  intercourse  we  have  been  describing ! 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ON    HUMOUR   PROCEEDING  FROM  SCOTTISH  LAN- 
GUAGE, INCLUDING  SCOTTISH  PROVERBS. 

jE  come  next  to  reminiscences  chiefly  con- 
nected with  peculiarities  which  turned 
upon  our  Scottish  LANGUAGE,  whether 
contained  in  words  or  in  expressions. 
Now  this  is  a  very  important  change,  and  affects  in 
a  greater  degree  than  many  persons  would  imagine, 
the  general  modes  and  aspects  of  society.  I  suppose 
at  one  time  the  two  countries  of  England  and  Scot- 
land were  considered  as  almost  speaking  different 
languages,  and  I  suppose  also,  that  from  the  period 
of  the  union  of  the  crowns,  the  language  has  been 
assimilating.  We  see  the  process  of  assimilation 
going  on,  and  ere  long  amongst  persons  of  education 
and  birth  very  little  difference  will  be  perceptible. 
With  regard  to  that  class  a  great  change  has  taken 
place  in  my  time.  I  recollect  old  Scottish  ladies 
and  gentlemen  who  regularly  spoke  Scotch.  It  was 
not,  mark  me,  speaking  English  with  an  accent. 
No  ;  it  was  downright  Scotch.  Every  tone  and 
every  syllable  was  Scotch.  For  example,  I  recollect 


Scottish    Life   fy    Character.  79 

old  Miss  Erskine  of  Dun,  a  fine  specimen  of  a  real 
lady,  and  daughter  of  an  ancient  Scottish  house. 
Many  people  now  would  not  understand  her.  She 
was  always  the  lady^  notwithstanding  her  dialect,  and 
to  none  could  the  epithet  vulgar  be  less  appropriately 
applied.  I  speak  of  thirty  years  ago,  and  yet  I  recol- 
lect her  accost  to  me  as  well  as  if  it  were  yesterday,  "  I 
didna  ken  ye  were  i'  the  toun."  Taking  words  and 
accent  together,  an  address  how  totally  unlike  what 
we  now  meet  with  in  society.  Some  of  the  old 
Scottish  words  which  we  can  remember  are  de- 
licious ;  but  how  strange  they  would  sound  to  the 
ears  of  the  present  generation  !  Fancy  that  in  walk- 
ing from  church,  and  discussing  the  sermon,  a  lady 
of  rank  should  now  express  her  opinion  of  it  by  the 
description  of  its  being,  "  but  a  hummelcorn  dis- 
course." Many  living  persons  can  remember  Angus 
old  ladies  who  would  say  to  their  nieces  and  daugh- 
ters, "  Whatna  hummeldoddie  o'  a  mutch  hae  ye 
gotten  ?  "  meaning  a  flat  and  low-crowned  cap.  In 
speaking  of  the  dryness  of  the  soil  on  a  road  in  Lan- 
arkshire, a  farmer  said,  "  It  stoors1  in  an  orr."2 
How  would  this  be  as  tersely  translated  into  Eng- 
lish ?  The  late  Duchess  of  Gordon  sat  at  dinner 
next  an  English  gentleman  who  was  carving,  and 
who  made  it  a  boast  that  he  was  thoroughly  master 
of  the  Scottish  language.  Her  Grace  turned  to  him 

1  Stoor  is,  Scottice,  dust  in  motion,  and  there  is  really  no 
*ynonyme  for  it  in  English. 

2  Hour. 


80  Reminiscences  of 

and  said,  "  Rax  me  a  spaul  o'.  that  bubbly  jock."1 
The  unfortunate  man  was  completely  nonplussed.  A 
Scottish  gentleman  was  entertaining  at  his  house  an 
English  cousin  who  professed  himself  as  rather  know- 
ing in  the  language  of  the  north  side  of  the  Tweed. 
He  asked  him  what  he  supposed  to  be  the  meaning 
of  the  expression,  "  ripin'  the  ribs."  2  To  which 
he  readily  answered,  "  Oh,  it  describes  a  very  fat 
man."  I  profess  myself  an  out  and  out  Scotchman. 
I  have  strong  national  partialities  —  call  them  if  you 
will  national  prejudices.  I  cherish  a  great  love  of 
old  Scottish  language.  Some  of  our  pure  Scottish 
ballad  poetry  is  unsurpassed  in  any  language  for 
grace  and  pathos.  How  expressive,  how  beautiful 
are  its  phrases  !  You  can't  translate  them.  Take 
an  example  of  power  in  a  Scotch  expression,  to  de- 
scribe with  tenderness  and  feeling  what  is  in  human 
life.  Take  one  of  our  most  familiar  phrases  ;  as 
thus,  —  we  meet  an  old  friend,  we  talk  over  bygone 
days,  and  remember  many  who  were  dear  to  us  both, 
once  bright  and  young  and  gay,  of  whom  some  re- 
main, honoured,  prosperous,  and  happy  —  of  whom 
some  are  under  a  cloud  of  misfortune  or  disgrace  — 
some  are  broken  in  health  and  spirits  —  some  sunk 
into  the  grave ;  we  recal  old  familiar  places  —  old 
companions,  pleasures,  and  pursuits ;  as  Scotchmen 
our  hearts  are  touched  with  these  remembrances  of 
AULD  LANG  SYNE-. 

1  Reach  me  a  leg  of  that  turkey. 

2  Clearing  ashes  out  of  the  bars  of  the  grate. 


Scottish   Life   fy    Character.  81 

Match  me  the  phrase  in  English.  You  can't  trans- 
late it.  The  fitness  and  the  beauty  lie  in  the  felicity 
of  the  language.  Like  many  happy  expressions,  it 
is  not  transferable  into  another  tongue,  just  like  the 
"  simplex  munditiis  "  of  Horace,  which  describes  the 
natural  grace  of  female  elegance,  or  the  dvripi,-&jnov 
yeTiaopa  of  ^Eschylus,  which  describes  the  bright 
sparkling  of  the  ocean  in  the  sun. 

I  think  the  power  of  Scottish  dialect  was  happily 
exemplified  by  the  late  Dr.  Adam,  rector  of  the  High 
School  of  Edinburgh,  in  his  translation  of  the  Hora- 
tian  expression,  "  desipere  in  loco,"  which  he  turned 
by  the  Scotch  phrase  "  Weel-timed  daffin',"  a  trans- 
lation, however,  which  no  one  but  a  Scotchman  could 
appreciate.  The  following  humorous  Scottish  trans- 
lation of  an  old  Latin  aphorism  has  been  assigned  to 
the  late  Dr.  Hill  of  St.  Andrews,  "  «§>«/  bene  cepit  di- 
midium  facti  fecit"  The  witty  Principal  expressed  in 
Scotch,  "  Weel  saipet  (well  soaped)  is  half  shaven." 

What  mere  English  word  could  have  expressed  a 
distinction  so  well  in  such  a  case  as  the  following  ?  i 
heard  once  a  lady  in  Edinburgh  objecting  to  a  preach- 
er that  she  did  not  understand  him.  Another  lady, 
his  great  admirer,  insinuated  that  probably  he  was  too 
"  deep  "  for  her  to  follow.  But  her  ready  answer 
was,  u  Na,  na,  he's  no  just  deep,  but  he's  drumly"^- 

We  have  just  received  a  testimony  to  the  value  of 
our  Scottish  language  from  the  illustrious  Chancellor 

1  Mentally  confused.     Muddy  when  applied  to  water. 
4* 


82  Reminiscences   of 

of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  the  force  and  au- 
thority of  which  no  one  will  be  disposed  to  question. 
Lord  Brougham,  in  speaking  of  improvements  upon 
the  English  language,  makes  these  striking  re- 
marks :  — 

. 

"  The  pure  and  classical  language  of  Scotland  must  on  no  ac- 
count be  regarded  as  a  provincial  dialect,  any  more  than  French 
was  so  regarded  in  the  reign  of  Henry  V.,  or  Italian  in  that  of 
the  first  Napoleon,  or  Greek  under  the  Roman  Empire.  Nor 
is  it  to  be  in  any  manner  of  way  considered  as  a  corruption  of 
the  Saxon  ;  on  the  contrary,  it  contains  much  of  the  old  and 
genuine  Saxon,  with  an  intermixture  from  the  Northern  nations, 
as  Danes  and  Norse,  and  some,  though  a  small  portion,  from 
the  Celtic.  But  in  whatever  way  composed,  or  from  whatever 
sources  arising,  it  is  a  national  language,  used  by  the  whole  peo- 
ple in  their  early  years,  by  many  learned  and  gifted  persons 
throughout  life,  and  in  which  are  written  the  laws  of  the  Scotch, 
their  judicial  proceedings,  their  ancient  history,  above  all,  their 
poetry. 

"  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  English  language  would 
greatly  gain  by  being  enriched  with  a  number  both  of  words 
and  of  phrases,  or  turns  of  expression,  now  peculiar  to  the 
Scotch.  It  was  by  such  a  process  that  the  Greek  became  the 
first  of  tongues,  as  well  written  as  spoken.  .  .  . 

"  Would  it  not  afford  means  of  enriching  and  improving  the 
English  language,  if  full  and  accurate  glossaries  of  improved 
Scotch  words  and  phrases  —  those  successfully  used  by  the  best 
writers,  both  in  prose  and  verse  —  were  given,  with  distinct  ex- 
planation and  reference  to  authorities  ?  This  has  been  done  in 
France  and  other  countries,  where  some  dictionaries  accompany 
the  English,  in  some  cases  with  Scotch  synonymes,  in  others 
with  varieties  of  expression."  Installation  Address,  p.  63. 

I  cannot  help  thinking  that  a  change  of  national 


Scottish   Life   fy    Character.  83 

language  involves  to  some  extent  change  of  national 
character.  Numerous  examples  of  great  power  in 
Scottish  phraseology,  to  express  the  picturesque,  the 
feeling,  the  wise,  and  the  humorous,  might  be  taken 
from  the  works  of  Robert  Burns,  Ferguson,  or  Allan 
Ramsay,  and  which  lose  their  charm  altogether  when 
unscottified.  The  speaker  certainly  seems  to  take  a 
strength  and , character  from  his  words.  We  must 
now  look  for  specimens  of  this  racy  and  expressive 
tongue  in  the  more  retired  parts  of  the  country.  It 
is  no  longer  to  be  found  in  high  places.  It  has  dis- 
appeared from  the  social  circles  of  our  cities.  In 
my  early  days  the  intercourse  with  the  peasantry  of 
Forfarshire,  Kincardineshire,  and  especially  of  Dee- 
side,  was  most  amusing,  not  that  the  things  said  were 
so  much  out  of  the  common,  as  that  the  language  in 
which  they  were  conveyed  was  picturesque,  and  odd, 
and  taking.  And  certainly  it  does  appear  to  me  that 
as  the  language  grows  more  uniform  and  convention- 
al, less  marked  and  peculiar  in  its  dialect  and  expres- 
sions, so  does  the  character  of  those  who  speak  it 
become  so.  I  have  a  rich  sample  of  Mid-Lothian 
Scotch  from  a  young  friend  in  the  country,  who 
describes  the  conversation  of  an  old  woman  on  the 
property  as  amusing  her  by  such  specimens  of  genu- 
ine Scottish  raciness  and  humour.  On  one  occasion, 
for  instance,  the  young  lady  had  told  her  humble 
friend  that  she  was  going  to  Ireland,  and  would  have 
to  undergo  a  sea  voyage.  "  Weel,  noo,  ye  dinna 
mean  that !  Ance  I  thocht  to  gang  across  to  tither 


84  Reminiscences   of 

side  o'  the  Queensferry  wi'  some  ither  folks  to  a  fair, 
ye  ken  ;  but  juist  when  e'er  I  pat  my  fit  in  the  boat, 
the  boat  gie  wallop,  and  my  heart  gie  a  loup,  and  I 
thocht  I'd  gang  oot  o'  my  judgment  athegither, 
so  says  I,  Na,  na,  ye  gang  awa  by  yoursells  to  tither 
side,  and  I'll  bide  here  till  sik  times  as  ye  come  awa 
back."  When  we  hear  our  Scottish  language  at  home, 
and  spoken  by  our  own  countrymen,  we  are  not  so 
much  struck  with  any  remarkable  effects  ;  but  it  takes 
a  far  more  impressive  character  when  heard  amongst 
those  who  speak  a  different  tongue,  and  when  encoun- 
tered in  other  lands.  I  recollect  the  late  Sir  Robert 
Liston  expressing  this  feeling  in  his  own  case.  When 
.our  ambassador  at  Constantinople,  some  Scotchmen 
had  been  recommended  to  him  for  some  purpose  of 
private  or  of  government  business  ;  and  Sir  Robert 
was  always  ready  to  do  a  kind  thing  for  a  country- 
man. He  found  them  out  in  a  barber's  shop  waiting 
for  being  shaved  in  turn.  One  came  in  rather  late, 
and  seeing  he  had  scarcely  room  at  the  end  of  the 
seat,  addressed  his  countryman,  "  Neebour,  wad  ye 
sit  a  bit  wast."  What  strong  associations  must  have 
been  called  up,  by  hearing,  in  a  distant  land,  such  an 
expression  in  Scottish  tones. 

We  may  observe  here,  that  marking  the  course 
any  person  is  to  take,  or  the  direction  in  which  any 
object  is  to  be  met  with  by  the  points  of  the  compass, 
was  a  prevailing  practice  amongst  the  older  Scottish 
race.  There  could  hardly  be  a  more  ludicrous  ap- 
plication of  the  test,  than  was  furnished  by  an  honest 


Scottish    Life    fy    Character.  85 

Highlander  in  describing  the  direction  which  his  medi- 
cine would  not  take.  Jean  Gumming,  of  Altyre, 
who,  in  common  with  her  three  sisters,  was  a  true 
soeur  de  la  charite,  was  one  day  taking  her  rounds  as 
usual,  visiting  the  poor  sick,  among  whom  there  was 
a  certain  Donald  MacQueen,  who  had  been  some- 
time confined  to  his  bed.  Jean  Gumming,  after 
asking  him  how  he  felt,  and  finding  that  he  was  "  no 
better,"  of  course  inquired  if  he  had  taken  the  medi- 
cine which  she  had  sent  him  ;  "  Troth  no,  me  lady," 
he  replied.  "  But  why  not,  Donald,"  she  answered, 
"  it  was  very  wrong ;  how  can  you  expect  to  get  bet- 
ter if  you  do  not  help  yourself  with  the  remedies  which 
Heaven  provides  for  you."  "  /'right  or  /^rang,"  said 
Donald,  u  it  wou'd  na  gang  wast  in  spite  o'  me." 
In  all  the  north  country,  it  is  always  said,  "  I'm 
ganging  east  or  west,"  etc.,  and  it  happened  that 
Donald  on  his  sick  bed  was  lying  east  and  west,  his 
feet  pointing  to  the  latter  direction,  hence  his  reply 
to  indicate  that  he  could  not  swallow  the  medicine  ! 
We  may  fancy  the  amusement  of  the  officers  of  a 
regiment  in  the  West  Indies  at  the  innocent  remark 
of  a  young  lad  who  had  just  joined  from  Scotland. 
On  meeting  at  dinner,  his  salutation  to  his  colonel 
was,  "  Anither  het  day,  Cornal,"  as  if  "  het  days" 
were  in  Barbadoes  few  and  far  between,  as  they  were 
in  his  dear  old  stormy  cloudy  Scotland.  Or  take  the 
case  of  a  Scottish  saying,  which  indicated  at  once  the 
dialect  and  the  economical  habits  of  a  hardy  and 
struggling  race.  A  young  Scotchman,  who  had  been 


86  Reminiscences  of 

some  time  in  London,  met  his  friend  recently  come 
up  from  the  north  to  pursue  his  fortune  in  the  great 
metropolis.  On  discussing  matters  connected  with 
their  new  life  in  London,  the  more  experienced  vis- 
itor remarked  upon  the  greater  expenses  there  than 
in  the  retired  Scottish  town  which  they  had  left. 
"  Ay,"  said  the  other,  sighing  over  the  reflection, 
"When  ye  get  cheenge  for  a  saxpence  here,  it's 
soon  slippit  awaV  I  recollect  a  story  of  my  father's 
which  illustrates  the  force  of  dialect,- although  con- 
fined to  the  inflections  of  a  single  monosyllable.  On 
riding  home  one  evening,  he  passed  a  cottage  or  small 
farm-house,  where  there  was  a  considerable  assem- 
blage of  people,  and  an  evident  incipient  merry-making 
for  some  festive  occasion.  On  asking  one  of  the 
lasses  standing  about  what  it  was,  she  answered, 
"Ou,  it's  juist  a  wedding  o*  Jock  Thamson  and 
Janet  Fraser."  To  the  question,  "  Is  the  bride 
rich?"  there  was  a  plain  quiet  "  Na."  "Is  she 
young  ? "  a  more  emphatjc  and  decided  "  Naa  !  " 
but  to  the  query,  "  Is  she  bonny  ? "  a  most  elaborate 
and  prolonged  shout  of  "  Naaa  !  " 

It  has  been  said  that  the  Scottish  dialect  is  pecu- 
liarly powerful  in  its  use  of  vowels,  and  the  following 
dialogue  between  a  shopman  and  a  customer  has  been 
given  as  a  specimen.  The  conversation  relates  to  a 
plaid  hanging  at  the  shop  door  — 

Cus.   (inquiring  the  material),  Oo  ?  (wool  ?) 

Shop.  Ay,  oo  (yes,  of  wool). 

Cus.   A'  oo  ?    (all  wool  ?) 


Scottish   Life   fy   Character.  87 

Shop.  Ay,  a'  oo  (yes,  all  wool). 

Cus.  A'  ae  oo  ?   (all  same  wool  ?) 

Shop.  Ay,  a'  ae  oo  (yes,  all  same  wool). 

An  amusing  anecdote  of  a  pithy  and  jocular  reply, 
comprised  in  one  syllable,  is  recorded  of  an  eccentric 
legal  Scottish  functionary  of  the  last  century.  An 
advocate,  of  whose  legal  qualifications  he  had  formed 
rather  a  low  estimate,  was  complaining  to  him  of 
being  passed  over  in  a  recent  appointment  to  the 
bench,  and  expressed  his  sense  of  the  injustice  with 
which  he  had  been  treated.  He  was  very  indignant 
at  his  claims  and  merit  being  overlooked  in  their  not 
choosing  him  for  the  new  judge,  adding  with  much 
acrimony,  "  And  I  can  tell  you  they  might  have  got  a 
1  waur.'  "  l  To  which,  as  if  merely  coming  over  the 
complainant's  language  again,  the  answer  was  a  grave 
"Whaur?"2  The  merit  of  the  impertinence  was, 
that  it  sounded  as  if  it  were  merely  a  repetition  of  his 
friend's  last  words,  waur  and  whaur.  It  was  as  if 
"echo  answered  whaur  ?"  As  I  have  said,  the  oddity 
and  acuteness  of  the  speaker  arose  from  the  manner 
of  expression,  not  from  the  thing  said.  In  fact,  the 
same  thing  said  in  plain  English  would  be  mere  com- 
monplace. I  recollect  being  much  amused  with  a 
dialogue  between  my  brother  and  his  man,  the  chief 
manager  of  a  farm  which  he  had  just  taken,  and,  I 
suspect,  in  a  good  measure,  manager  of  the  farmer 
as  well.  At  any  rate  he  committed  to  this  acute 
overseer  all  the  practical  details  ;  and  on  the  present 

1  Worse.  2  Where. 


88  Reminiscences    of 

occasion  had  sent  him  to  market  to  dispose  of  a  cow 
and  a  pony,  a  simple  enough  transaction,  and  with  a 
simple  enough  result.  The  cow  was  brought  back, 
the  pony  was  sold.  But  the  man's  description  of  it 
forms  the  point.  "  Well,  John,  have  you  sold  the 
cow  ?  "  "  Na,  but  I  grippit  a  chiel  for  the  powny  !  " 
The  "grippit"  was  here  most  expressive  !  Indeed, 
this  word  has  a  significance  hardly  expressed  by  any 
English  one,  and  used  to  be  very  prevalent  to  indicate 
keen  and  forcible  tenacity  of  possession  ;  thus  a  char- 
acter noted  for  avarice  or  sharp  looking  to  self  interest, 
was  termed  "  grippy."  In  mechanical  contrivances, 
anything  taking  a  close  adherence,  was  called  having 
a  gude  grip.  I  recollect  in  boyish  days  when  on 
Deeside  taking  wasp  nests,  an  old  man  looking  on 
was  sharply  stung  by  one,  and  his  description  was, 
<c  Ane  o'  them's  grippit  me  fine."  The  following 
had  an  indescribable  piquancy,  which  arose  from  the 
Scotticism  of  the  terms  and  the  manners.  Many  years 
ago,  when  accompanying  a  shooting  party  on  the 
Grampians,  not  with  a  gun  like  the  rest,  but  with  a 
botanical  box  for  collecting  specimens  of  mountain 
plants,  the  party  had  got  very  hot,  and  very  tired,  and 
very  cross.  On  the  way  home,  whilst  sitting  down 
to  rest,  a  gamekeeper-sort  of  attendant,  and  a  charac- 
ter in  his  way,  said, cc  I  wish  I  was  in  the  dining-room 
of  Fasque."  An  old  laird  very  testily  replied,  u  Ye'd 
soon  be  kickit  out  o'  that ;"  to  which  the  other  re- 
plied, not  at  all  daunted,  "  Weel,  weel,  then  I  wadna 
be  far  frae  the  kitchen."  A  quaint  and  characteristic 


Scottish    Life    fy    Character.  89 

reply,  I  recollect  from  another  farm-servant.  My 
eldest  brother  had  just  been  constructing  a  piece  of 
machinery,  which  was  driven  by  a  stream  of  water 
running  through  the  home  farm-yard.  There  was  a 
thrashing  machine,  a  winnowing  machine,  and  cir- 
cular saw  for  splitting  trees  into  paling,  and  other 
contrivances  of  a  like  kind.  Observing  an  old  man, 
who  had  long  been  about  the  place,  looking  very  at- 
tentively at  all  that  was  going  on,  he  said,  "  Wonder- 
ful things  people  can  do  now,  Robby  ?"  "  Ay," 
said  Robby,  u  indeed,  Sir  Alexander,  I'm  thinking  if 
Solomon  was  alive  noo  he'd  be  thocht  naething  o*  !  " 
But,  after  all,  it  was  amongst  the  old  ladies  that  the 
great  abundance  of  choice  pungent  Scottish  expres- 
sions, such  as  you  certainly  do  not  meet  with  in  these 
days,  was  to  be  sought.  In  their  position  of  society, 
education  either  in  England,  or  education  conducted 
by  English  teachers,  has  so  spread  in  Scottish  families, 
and  intercourse  with  the  south  has  been  so  increased, 
that  all  these  colloquial  peculiarities  are  fast  disappear- 
ing. Some  of  the  ladies  of  this  older  school  felt 
some  indignation  at  the  change  which  they  lived  to 
see  was  fast  going  on.  One  of  them  being  asked  if 
an  individual  whom  she  had  lately  seen  was  "  Scotch," 
answered  with  some  bitterness,  "  I  canna  say ;  ye  a' 
speak  sae  genteel  now  that  I  dinna  ken  wha's  Scotch." 
It  was  not  uncommon  to  find,  in  young  persons,  ex- 
amples, some  years  ago,  of  an  attachment  to  the 
Scottish  dialect,  like  that  of  the  old  lady.  In  the  life 
of  P.  Tytler,  lately  published,  there  is  an  account  of 


90  Reminiscences   of 

his  first  return  to  Scotland  from  a  school  in  England. 
His  family  were  delighted  with  his  appearance,  man- 
ners, and  general  improvement ;  but  a  sister  did  not 
share  this  pleasure  unmixed,  for  being  found  in  tears, 
and  the  remark  being  made,  "Is  he  not  charming," 
her  reply  was,  in  great  distress,  "  Oh  yes,  but  he 
speaks  English  !" 

The  class  of  old  Scottish  ladies  marked  by  so  many 
peculiarities,  generally  lived  in  provincial  towns,  and 
never  dreamt  of  going  from  home.  Many  had  never 
been  in  London,  or  had  even  crossed  the  Tweed. 
But  as  Lord  Cockburn's  experience  goes  back  farther 
than  mine,  and  as  he  had  special  opportunities  of  be- 
ing acquainted  with  their  characteristic  peculiarities, 
I  will  quote  his  animated  description  at  page  57  of 
his  memorials.  "There  was  a  singular  race  of  old 
Scotch  ladies.  They  were  a  delightful  set —  strong- 
headed,  warm-hearted,  and  high-spirited  —  merry 
even  in  solitude  ;  very  resolute  ;  indifferent  about  the 
modes  and  habits  of  the  modern  world,  and  adhering 
to  their  own  ways,  so  as  to  stand  out  like  primitive 
rocks  above  ordinary  society.  Their  prominent  qual- 
ities of  sense,  humour,  affection,  and  spirit,  were 
embodied  in  curious  outsides,  for  they  all  dressed,  and 
spoke,  and  did  exactly  as  they  chose.  Their  language, 
like  their  habits,  entirely  Scotch,  but  without  any 
other  vulgarity  than  what  perfect  naturalness  is  some- 
times mistaken  for."  l 

This  is  a  masterly  description  of  a  race  now  all 
1  Lord  Cockburn's  Memorials,  p.  58. 


Scottish    Life   fy    Character.  91 

but  passed  away.  I  have  known  several  of  them 
in  my  early  days  ;  and  amongst-  them  we  must  look 
for  the  racy  Scottish  peculiarities  of  diction  and  of 
expression  which,  with  them,  are  also  nearly  gone. 
Lord  Cockburn  has  given  some  illustrations  of  these 
peculiarities ;  and  I  have  heard  others,  especially 
connected  with  Jacobite  partialities,  of  which  I  say 
nothing,  as  they  are  in  fact  rather  strong  for  such  an 
occasion  as  the  present.  One,  however,  I  heard 
lately  as  coming  from  a  Forfarshire  old  lady  of  this 
class,  which  bears  upon  the  point  of  "  resolute  " 
determination  referred  to  in  Lord  Cockburn's  de- 
scription. She  had  been  very  positive  in  the  dis- 
claiming of  some  assertion  which  had  been  attributed 
to  her,  and  on  being  asked  if  she  had  not  written  it, 
or  something  very  like  it,  she  replied,  "  Na,  na ;  I 
never  write  onything  of  consequence  —  I  may  deny 
what  I  say,  but  I  canna  deny  what  I  write." 

Mrs.  Baird  of  Newbyth,  the  mother  of  our  dis- 
tinguished countryman  the  late  General  Sir  David 
Baird,  was  always  spoken  of  as  a  grand  specimen  of 
the  class.  When  the  news  arrived  from  India  of  the 
gallant  but  unfortunate  action  of  '84  against  Hyder 
Ali,  in  which  her  son,  then  Captain  Baird,  was  en- 
gaged, it  was  stated  that  he  and  other  officers  had 
been  taken  prisoners  and  chained  together  two  and 
two.  The  friends  were  careful  in  breaking  such  sad 
intelligence  to  the  mother  of  Captain  Baird.  When, 
however,  she  was  made  fully  to  understand  the  posi- 
tion of  her  son  and  his  gallant  companions,  disdain- 


92  Reminiscences    of 

ing  all  weak  and  useless  expressions  of  her  own 
grief,  and  knowing  well  the  restless  and  athletic 
habits  of  her  son,  all  she  said  was,  cc  Lord  pity  the 
chiel  that's  chained  to  our  Davy."  l 

The  ladies  of  this  class  had  certainly  no  affecta- 
tion in  speaking  of  those  who  came  under  their  dis- 
pleasure, even  when  life  and  death  were  concerned. 
I  had  an  anecdote  illustrative  of  this  characteristic, 
in  a  well-known  old  lady  of  the  last  century,  Miss 
Johnstone  of  Westerhall.  She  had  been  extremely 
indignant  that,  on  the  death  of  her  brother,  his  wid- 
ow had  proposed  to  sell  off  the  old  furniture  of  Wes- 
terhall. She  was  attached  to  it  from  old  associations, 
and  considered  the  parting  with  it  little  short  of  sacri- 
lege. The  event  was,  however,  arrested  by  death, 
or,  as  she  describes  the  result,  "  the  furniture  was  a* 
to  be  roupit,  and  we  couldna  persuade  her.  But  be- 
fore the  sale  cam  on,  in  God's  gude  providence,  she 
just  clinkit  aff  hersell."  Of  this  same  Miss  John- 
stone,  another  characteristic  anecdote  has  been  pre- 
served in  the  family.  She  came  into  possession  of 
Hawkhill,  near  Edinburgh,  and  died  there.  When 
dying,  a  tremendous  storm  of  rain  and  thunder  came 
on,  so  as  to  shake  the  house.  In  her  own  quaint 
eccentric  spirit,  and  with  no  thought  of  profane  or 
light  allusions,  she  looked  up,  and,  listening  to  the 

1  It  is  but  due  to  the  memory  of  "  our  Davy  "  to  state  that 
"  the  chiel  "  to  whom  he  was  chained,  in  writing  home  to  his 
friends,  bore  high  testimony  to  the  kindness  and  consideration 
with  which  he  was  treated  by  Captain  Baird. 


Scottish   Life  fy   Character.  93 

storm,  quietly  remarked  in  reference  to  her  departure, 
"  Ech,  sirs  !  what  a  nicht  for  me  to  be  fleeing  thro* 
the  air  !  "  Of  fine  acute  sarcasm  I  recollect  hearing 
an  expression  from  rather  a  modern  sample  of  the 
class,  a  charming  character,  but  only  to  a  certain 
degree  answering  to  the  description  of  the  older  gen- 
eration. Conversation  turning,  and  with  just  indigna- 
tion, on  the  infidel  remarks  which  had  been  heard  from 
a  certain  individual,  and  on  his  irreverent  treatment 
of  Holy  Scripture,  all  that  this  lady  condescended  to 
say  of  him  was,  u  Gey  impudent  of  him,  I  think." 

A  recorded  reply  of  old  Lady  Perth  to  a  French 
gentleman  is  quaint  and  characteristic.  They  had 
been  discussing  the  respective  merits  of  the  cookery 
of  each  country.  The  Frenchman  offended  the  old 
Scottish  peeress  by  some  disparaging  remarks  on 
Scottish  dishes,  and  by  highly  preferring  those  of 
France.  All  she  would  answer  was,  "  Weel,  weel, 
some  fowk  like  parritch,  and  some  like  paddocks."  J 
Of  this  older  race  —  the  ladies  who  were  aged 
fifty  years  ago  —  the  description  is  given  by  Lord 
Cockburn  in  strong  and  bold  outline.  I  would  pre- 
tend to  nothing  more  than  giving  a  few  illustrative 
details  from  my  own  experience,  which  may  assist 
the  description  by  adding  some  practical  realities  to 
the  picture.  Several  of  them  whom  I  knew  in  my 
early  days  certainly  answered  to  many  of  those  de- 
scriptions of  Lord  Cockburn.  Their  language  and 
expressions  had  a  zest  and  peculiarity  which  is  gone, 
1  Frogs. 


94  Reminiscences   of 

and  which  would  not,  I  fear,  do  for  modern  life  and 
times. 

I  have  spoken  of  Miss  Erskine  of  Dun,  which  is 
near  Montrose.  She,  however,  resided  in  Edinburgh. 
But  those  I  knew  best  had  lived  many  years  in  the 
then  retired  society  of  a  country  town.  Some  were 
my  own  relations  ;  and  in  boyish  days  (for  they  had 
not  generally  much  patience  with  boys)  were  looked 
up  to  with  considerable  awe  as  very  formidable  per- 
sonages. Their  characters  and  modes  of  expression 
in  many  respects,  remarkably  corresponded  with  Lord 
Cockburn's  description.  There  was  a  dry  Scottish 
humour  which  we  fear  their  successors  do'not  inherit. 
One  of  these  Montrose  ladies  had  many  anecdotes 
told  of  her  quaint  ways  and  sayings.  Walking  in  the 
street  one  day,  slippery  from  frost,  she  fairly  fell  down. 
A  young  officer  with  much  politeness  came  forward 
and  picked  her  up,  earnestly  asking  her  at  the  same 
time,  "  I  hope,  ma'am,  you  are  no  worse  ? "  to  which 
she  replied,  looking  at  him  very  steadily,  "  Indeed, 
sir,  I'm  just  as  little  the  better."  A  few  days  after, 
she  met  her  military  supporter  in  a  shop.  He  was  a 
fine  tall  youth,  upwards  of  six  feet  high,  and  by  way 
of  making  some  grateful  recognition  for  his  late  polite 
attention,  she  eyed  him  from  head  to  foot ;  and  as  she 
was  of  the  opinion  of  the  old  Scotch  lady,  who  de- 
clared she  u  aye  liked  bonny  fowk,"  she  viewed  her 
young  friend  with  much  satisfaction,  but  which  she 
only  evinced  by  the  dry  remark,  "  O'd,  ye're  a  lang 
lad  ;  God  gie  ye  grace." 


Scottish   Life   fy   Character.  g_j 

I  had  from  a  relative  or  intimate  friend  of  two 
sisters  of  this  school,  well  known  about  Glasgow,  an 
odd  account  of  what  it  seems  from  their  own  state- 
ment had  passed  between  them  at  a  country  house, 
where  they  had  attended  a  sale  by  auction.  As  the 
business  of  the  day  went  on,  a  dozen  of  silver  spoons 
had  to  be  disposed  of;  and  before  they  were  put  up 
for  competition,  they  were,  according  to  the  usual 
custom,  handed  round  for  inspection  to  the  company. 
When  returned  into  the  hands  of  the  auctioneer,  he 
found  only  eleven.  In  great  wrath,  he  ordered  the 
door  to  be  shut,  that  no  one  might  escape,  and  insist- 
ed on  every-one  present  being  searched,  to  discover 
the  delinquent.  One  of  the  sisters,  in  consternation, 
whispered  to  the  other,  "  Esther,  ye  hae  nae  gotten 
the  spune  ?  "  to  which  the  other  replied,  "  Na  ;  but 
I  hae  gotten  Mrs.  Siddons  in  my  pocket."  She  had 
been  struck  by  a  miniature  of  the  great  actress,  and 
quietly  had  pocketed  it.  The  cautious  reply  of  the 
sister  was,  "  Then  juist  drop  her,  Esther."  One 
of  the  sisterhood,  a  connection  of  my  own,  had 
much  of  this  dry  Scottish  humour.  She  had  a  lodg- 
ing in  the  house  of  a  respectable  grocer ;  and  on  her 
niece  most  innocently  asking  her,  "  If  she  was  not 
very  fond  of  her  landlord,"  in  reference  to  the  excel- 
lence of  her  apartments  and  the  attention  he  paid  to 
her  comfort,  she  demurred  to  the  question,  on  the 
score  of  its  propriety,  by  replying,  "  Fond  of  my 
landlord  !  that  would  be  an  unaccountable  fondness." 

An  amusing  account  was  given  of  an  interview 


96  Reminiscences    of 

and  conversation  between  this  lady  and  the  provost 
of  Montrose.  She  had  demurred  at  paying  some 
municipal  tax  with  which  she  had  been  charged,  and 
the  provost  was  anxious  to  prevent  her  getting  into 
difficulty  on  the  subject,  and  kindly  called  to  convince 
her  of  the  fairness  of  the  claim,  and  the  necessity  of 
paying  it.  In  his  explanation  he  referred  back  to  his 
own  bachelor  days  when  a  similar  payment  had  been 
required  from  him.  "  I  assure  you,  ma'am,"  he  said, 
"  when  I  was  in  your  situation  I  was  called  upon  in 
a  similar  way  for  this  tax  ; "  to  which  she  replied,  in 
quiet  scorn,  cc  In  my  situation  !  an'  whan  were  ye  in 
my  situation  —  an  auld  maid  leevin*  in  a  flat  wi'  an 
ae  lass  ?"  But  the  complaints  of  such  imposts  were 
urged  in  a  very  humorous  manner  by  another  Mon- 
trose old  lady,  Miss  Helen  Carnegy  of  Craigo ;  she 
hated  paying  taxes,  and  always  pretended  to  misun- 
derstand their  nature.  One  day,  receiving  a  notice 
of  such  payment  signed  by  the  provost  (Thorn),  she 
broke  out :  "  I  dinna  understand  thae  taxes  ;  but  I 
just  think  when  Mrs.  Thorn  wants  a  new  gown,  the 
provost  sends  me  a  tax  paper ! "  The  good  lady's 
nai've  rejection  of  the  idea  that  she  could  be  in  any 
sense  "  fond  of  her  landlord,"  already  referred  to, 
was  somewhat  in  unison  with  a  similar  feeling  re- 
corded to  have  been  expressed  by  the  late  Mr.  Wil- 
.son,  the  celebrated  Scottish  vocalist.  He  was  taking 
lessons  from  the  late  Mr.  Finlay  Dun,  one  of  the 
most  accomplished  musicians  of  his  day.  Mr.  Dun 
had  just  returned  from  Italy,  and,  impressed  with 


Scottish    Life   fy    Character.  97 

admiration  of  the  deep  pathos,  sentiment,  and  passion 
of  the  Italian  school  of  music,  he  regretted  to  find  in 
his  pupil  so  lovely  a  voice  and  so  much  talent  losing 
much  of  its  effect  for  want  of  feeling.  Anxious, 
therefore,  to  throw  into  his  friend's  performance 
something  of  the  Italian  expression,  he  proposed  to 
bring  it  -out  by  this  suggestion  :  "  Now,  Mr.  Wilson, 
just  suppose  that  I  am  your  lady-love,  and  sing  to 
me  as  you  could  imagine  yourself  doing  were  you 
desirous  of  impressing  her  with  your  earnestness  and 
affection."  Poor  Mr.  Wilson  hesitated,  blushed,  and 
under  doubt  how  far  such  a  personification  even  in 
his  case  was  allowable,  at  last  remonstrated,  "  Ay, 
Mr.  Dun,  ye  forget  Pm  a  married  man  ! " 

A  case  has  been  reported  of  a  country  girl,  how- 
ever, who  thought  it  possible  there  might  be  an  excess 
in  such  scrupulous  regard  to  appearances.  On  her 
marriage-day,  the  youth  to  whom  she  was  about  to 
be  united,  said  to  her  in  a  triumphant  tone,  "  Weel, 
Jenny,  haven't  I  been  unco  ceevil,"  alluding  to  the 
fact  that  during  their  whole  courtship  he  had  never 
even  given  her  a  kiss.  Her  quiet  reply  was,  "  Ou, 
ay,  man  ;  senselessly  ceevil." 

One  of  these  Montrose  ladies  and  a  sister  lived 
together  ;  and  in  a  very  quiet  way  they  were  in  the 
habit  of  giving  little  dinner  parties,  to  which  occa- 
sionally they  invited  their  gentlemen  friends.  How- 
ever, gentlemen  were  not  always  to  be  had  ;  and  on 
one  occasion,  when  such  a  difficulty  had  occurred, 
they  were  talking  over  the  matter  with  a  friend. 
5 


98  Reminiscences  of 

The  one*  lady  seemed  to  consider  such  an  acquisition 
almost  essential  to  the  having  a  dinner  at  all.  The 
other,  who  did  not  see  the  same  necessity,  quietly 
adding,  "  But,  indeed,  oor  Jean  thinks  a  man  a  per- 
fect salvation." 

There  was  occasionally  a  pawky  semi-sarcastic  hu- 
mour in  the  replies  of  some  of  the  ladies  we  speak  of 
that  was  quite  irresistible,  of  which  I  have  from  a 
friend  a  good  illustration  in  an  anecdote  well  known 
at  the  time.  A  late  well-known  member  of  the  Scot- 
tish bar,  when  a  youth,  was  somewhat  of  a  dandy, 
and,  I  suppose,  somewhat  short  and  sharp  in  his 
temper.  He  was  going  to  pay  a  visit  in  the  country, 
and  was  making  a  great  fuss  about  his  preparing  and 
the  putting  up  his  habiliments.  His  old  aunt  was 
much  annoyed  at  all  this  bustle,  and  stopped  him  by 
the  somewhat  contemptuous  question,  Cf  Whaur's 
this  you're  gaun,  Robby,  that  ye  mak  sic  a  grand 
wark  about  yer  claes  ?  "  The  young  man  lost  tem- 
per, and  pettishly  replied,  "  I'm  going  to  the  devil." 
"  'Deed,  Robby,  then,"  was  the  quiet  answer,  lc  ye 
needna  be  sae  nice,  he'll  juist  tak  ye  as  ye  are." 

Ladies  of  this  class  had  a  quiet  mode  of  expressing 
themselves  on  very  serious  subjects,  which  indicated 
their  quaint  power  of  description,  rather  than  their 
want  of  feeling.  Thus,  of  two  sisters,  when  one 
had  died,  it  was  supposed  that  she  had  injured  her- 
self by  an  imprudent  indulgence  in  strawberries  and 
cream,  of  which  she  had  partaken  in  the  country. 
A  friend  was  condoling  with  the  surviving  sister,  and, 


Scottish   Life  fy   Character.  99 

expressing  her  sorrow,  had  added,  "  I  had  hoped  your 
sister  was  to  live  many  years."  To  which  her  rela- 
tive rejoined — "  Leeve  !  hoo  could  she  leeve !  she 
juist  felled  1  hersell  at  Craigo  wi'  strawberries  and 
cream  ! "  However,  she  spoke  with  the  same  degree 
of  coolness  of  her  own  decease.  For  when  her  friend 
was  comforting  her  in  illness,  by  the  hopes  that  she 
would,  after  winter,  enjoy  again  some  of  their  country 
spring  butter,  she  exclaimed,  without  the  slightest 
idea  of  being  guilty  of  any  irreverence,  <c  Spring  but- 
ter !  by  that  time  I  shall  be  buttering  in  heaven." 
When  really  dying,  and  when  friends  were  round  her 
bed,  she  overheard  one  of  them  saying  to  another, 
"  Her  face  has  lost  its  colour  i  it  grows  like  a  sheet 
of  paper."  The  quaint  spirit  even  then  broke  out  in 
the  remark,  "  Then  I'm  sure  it  maun  be  broon  pa- 
per." A  very  strong-minded  lady  of  the  class,  and,  in 
Lord  Cockburn's  language, cc  indifferent  about  modes 
and  habits,"  had  been  asking  from  a  lady  the  charac- 
ter of  a  cook  she  was  about  to  hire.  The  lady  nat- 
urally entered  a  little  upon  her  moral  qualifications, 
and  described  her  as  a  very  decent  woman  j  the  re- 
ply  to  which  was,  u  Oh,  d — n  herjdecencjr  >,  c.an  she 
make  good  collopsT*— -  an  afiswer  which,  would 
somewhat  surprise  a  lady  of  Moray  Place'  how,  if 
engaged  in  a  similar  discussion  of  a  servant's  merits. 
I  had  two  grand-aunts  living  at  Montrose  at  that 
time  —  two  Miss  Ramsays  of  Balmain,  They  were 
somewhat  of  the  severe  class  —  Nelly  especially, 
i  Killed. 


loo  Reminiscences    of 

who  was  an  object  rather  of  awe  than  of  affection. 
She  certainly  had  a  very  awful  appearance  to  young 
apprehensions,  from  the  strangeness  of  her  head 
gear.  Ladies  of  this  class  Lord  Cockburn  has  spoken 
of  as  having  their  peculiarities  embodied  in  curious 
outsides,  as  they  dressed,  spoke,  and  did  exactly  as 
they  chose.  As  a  sample  of  such  curious  outside 
and  dress,  my  good  aunt  used  to  go  about  the  house 
with  an  immense  pillow  strapped  over  her  head— • 
warm  but  formidable.  These  two  maiden  grand- 
aunts  had  a  niece  on  a  visit,  an  aunt  of  mine,  who 
had  made  what  they  considered  a  very  imprudent 
marriage,  and  where  considerable  poverty  was  likely 
to  accompany  the  step  she  had  taken.  The  poor 
niece  had  to  bear  many  a  slap  directed  to  her  im- 
provident union,  as  for  example  :  One  day  she  had 
asked  for  a  piece  of  tape  for  some  work  she  had  in 
hand  as  a  young  wife  expecting  to  become  a  mother. 
Miss  Nelly  said  with  much  point,  "  Ay,  Kitty,  ye 
shall  get  a  bit  knittin'  (i.e.  a  bit  of  tape).  We  hae 
a'  thing  ;  we're  no  married."  It  was  this  lady  who, 
by  an  inadvertent  use  of  a  term,  shewed  what  was 
passing  in  her  mind  in  a  way  which  must  have  been 
quite  transparent  to  the  bystanders.  At  a  supper 
which  she  was  giving,  she  was  evidently  much  an- 
noyed at  the  reckless  and  clumsy  manner  in  which  a 
gentleman  was  operating  upon  a  ham  which  was  at 
table,  cutting  out  great  lumps,  and  distributing  them 
to  the  company.  The  lady  said,  in  a  very  querulous 
tone,  cc  Oh,  Mr.  Divet^  will  you  help  Mrs.  So  and 


Scottish   Life   fy   Character,          101 

So  ? "  —  divet  being  a  provincial  term  for  a  turf  or 
sod  cut  out  of  the  green,  and  the  resemblance  of  it 
to  the  pieces  carved  out  by  the  gentleman  evidently 
having  taken  "possession  of  her  imagination.  Mrs. 
Helen  Carnegy  of  Craigo  was  a  thorough  specimen 
of  this  class  of  old  Scottish  ladies.  She  lived  in 
Montrose,  and  died  in  1818,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
91.  She  was  a  Jacobite,  and  very  aristocratic  in  her 
feelings,  but  on  social  terms  with  many  burghers  of 
Montrose,  or  Munross,  as  it  was  called.  She  pre- 
served a  very  nice  distinction  of  addresses,  suited  to 
different  individuals  in  the  town,  according  as  she 
placed  them  in  the  scale  of  her  consideration.  She 
liked  a  party  at  quadrille,  and  sent  out  her  servant 
every  morning  to  invite  the  ladies  required  to  make 
up  the  game,  and  her  directions  were  graduated  thus 
— "  Nelly,  ye'll  ging  to  Lady  Carnegy's,  and  mak 
my  compliments,  and  ask  the  honour  of  her  lady- 
ship's company,  and  that  of  the  Miss  Carnegies,  to 
tea  this  evening  ;  and  if  they  canna  come,  ging  to 
the  Miss  Mudies,  and  ask  the  pleasure  of  their  com- 
pany ;  and  if  they  canna  come,  ye  may  ging  to  Miss 
Hunter  and  ask  the  favour  of  her  company  ;  and  if 
she  canna  come,  ging  to  Lucky  Spark  and  bid  her 
come" 

Some  of  those  ladies,  as  belonging  to  the  old  county 
families,  had  very  high  notions  of  their  own  impor- 
tance, and  a  great  idea  of  their  difference  from  the 
burgher  families  of  the  town.  I  am  assured  of  the 
truth  of  the  following  naive  specimen  of  such  family 


1O2  Reminiscences   of 

pride  :  —  One  of  the  olden  maiden  ladies  of  Montrose 
called  one  day  on  some  ladies  of  one  of  the  families 
in  the  neighbourhood,  and  on  being  questioned  as  to 
the  news  of  the  town  said,  cc  News  !  oh !  Bailie 

's  eldest  son  is  to  be  married."     "  And  pray," 

was  the  reply,  <c  and  pray,  Miss  — — ,  an'  fa*  ever 
heard  o*  a  merchant  i'  the  toon  o'  Montrose  ha  in? 
an  eldest  son  ?  " 

At  the  beginning  of  this  century,  when  the  fear  of 
invasion  was  rife,  it  was  proposed  to  mount  a  small 
battery  at  the  water-mouth  by  subscription,  and  Miss 
Carnegy  was  waited  on  by  a  deputation  from  the  town 
council.  One  of  them  having  addressed  her  on  the 
subject,  she  heard  him  with  some  impatience,  and 
when  he  had  finished,  she  said,  "  Are  ye  ane  o'  the 
toon  council  ?  "  He  replied,  "  I  have  that  honour, 
ma'm."  To  which  she  rejoined,  "  Ye  may  hae  that 
profit^  but  honour  ye  hae  nane ; "  and  then  to  the 
point,  she  added,  "  But  I've  been  telPt  that  ae  day's 
wark  o'  twa  or  three  men  wad  mount  the  cannon, 
and  that  it  may  be  a'  dune  for  twenty  shillings,  now 
there's  twa  punds  to  ye."  The  councillor  pocketed 
the  money  and  withdrew.  On  one  occasion,  as  she 
sat  in  an  easy  chair,  having  assumed  the  habits  and 
privileges  of  age,  Mr.  Mollison,  the  minister  of  the 
Established  Kirk,  called  on  her  to  solicit  for  some 
charity.  She  did  not  like  being  asked  for  money, 
and,  from  her  Jacobite  principles,  she  certainly  did 
not  respect  the  Presbyterian  Kirk.  When  he  came 
in,  she  made  an  inclination  of  the  head,  and  he  said, 


Scottish   Life   fy   Character.          103 

"  Don't  get  up,  madam."  She  replied,  "  Get  up  !  I 
wadna  rise  out  of  my  chair  for  King  George  himself, 
let  abee  a  Whig  minister." 

It  is  a  curious  subject  the  various  shades  of  Scot- 
tish dialect  and  Scottish  expressions,  commonly  called 
Scotticisms.  We  mark  in  the  course  of  fifty  years 
how  some  disappear  altogether  ;  others  become  more 
and  more  rare,  and  of  all  of  them  we  may  say,  I  think, 
that  the  specimens  of  them  are  to  be  looked  for  eve- 
ry year  more  in  the  descending  classes  of  society. 
What  was  common  amongst  peers,  judges,  lairds, 
advocates,  and  people  of  family  and  education,  is 
now  found  in  humbler  ranks  of  life.  There  are  few 
persons  perhaps  who  have  been  born  in  Scotland, 
and  who  have  lived  long  in  Scotland,  whom  a  nice 
southern  ear  might  not  detect  as  from  the  north. 
But  far  beyond  such  nicer  shades  of  distinction,  there 
are  strong  and  characteristic  marks  of  a  Caledo- 
nian origin  with  which  some  of  us  have  had  practi- 
cal acquaintance.  I  possess  two  curious,  and  now, 
I  believe,  rather  scarce,  publications  on  the  prevalent 
Scotticisms  of  our  speaking  and  writing.  One  is  en- 
titled, "  Scotticisms  designed  to  Correct  Improprieties 
of  Speech  and  Writing,"  by  Dr.  Beattie  of  Aberdeen. 
The  other  is  to  the  same  purpose,  and  is  entitled, 
"  Observations  on  the  Scottish  Dialect,"  by  the  late 
Right  Honourable  Sir  John  Sinclair.  Expressions 
which  were  common  in  their  days,  and  used  by  per- 
sons of  all  ranks,  are  not  known  by  the  rising  genera- 
tion. Many  amusing  equivoques  used  to  be  current, 


104  Reminiscences   of 

arising  from  Scotch  people  in  England  applying  terms 
and  expressions  in  a  -manner  rather  surprising  to 
Southern  ears.  Thus,  the  story  was  told  of  a  public 
character  dear  to  the  memory  of  Scotland,  Henry 
Dundas  (Viscount  Melville),  applying  to  Mr.  Pitt 
for  the  loan  of  a  horse  "  the  length  of  Highgate,"  a 
very  common  expression  in  Scotland  at  that  time  to 
signify  the  distance  to  which  the  ride  was  to  extend. 
Mr.  Pitt  good  humouredly  wrote  back  to  say  that  he 
was  afraid  he  had  not  a  horse  in  his  possession  quite 
so  long  as  Mr.  Dundas  had  mentioned,  but  he  had 
sent  the  longest  he  had.  There  is  a  well-known  case 
of  mystification,  caused  to  English  ears  by  the  use  of 
Scottish  terms,  which  took  place  in  the  House  of 
Peers  during  the  examination  of  the  Magistrates  of 
Edinburgh  touching  the  particulars  of  the  Porteous 
Mob  in  1736.  The  Duke  of  Newcastle  having 
asked  the  Provost  with  what  kind  of  shot  the  town- 
guard,  commanded  by  Porteous,  had  loaded  their 
muskets,  received  the  unexpected  reply,  "  Ou,  juist 
sic  as  ane  shutes  dukes  and  sic-like  fools  wi'."  The 
answer  was  considered  as  a  contempt  of  the  House 
of  Lords,  and  the  poor  Provost  would  have  suffered 
from  misconception  of  his  patois,  had  not  the  Duke 
of  Argyle  (who  must  have  been  exceedingly  amused) 
explained  that  the  worthy  chief  magistrate's  expres- 
sion, when  rendered  into  English,  meant  to  describe 
the  shot  used  for  ducks  and  water-fowl.  The  circum- 
stance is  referred  to  by  Sir  W.  Scott  in  the  notes  to 
the  Heart  of  Mid-Lothian. 


Scottish   Life   fy    Character.          105 

A  very  curious  list  may  be  made  of  words  used  in 
Scotland  in  a  sense  which  would  be  quite  unintelligi- 
ble to  southerns.  Such  applications  are  going  out, 
but  I  remember  them  well  amongst  the  old-fashioned 
people  of  Angus  and  the  Mearns  quite  common  in 
conversation.  I  subjoin  some  specimens  :  — 

Bestial  signifies  amongst  Scottish  agriculturists  cat- 
tle generally,  the  whole  aggregate  number  of  beasts 
on  the  farm.  Again,  a  Scottish  farmer  when  he 
speaks  of  his  "  hogs,"  or  of  buying  "  hogs,"  has  no 
reference  to  swine,  but  means  young  sheep,  /.*., 
sheep  before  they  have  lost  their  first  fleece. 

Discreet  does  not  bear  the  meaning  of  prudent  or 
cautious,  but  of  civil,  kind,  attentive.  Such  appli- 
cation of  the  word  is  said  to  have  been  made  by  Dr. 
Chalmers  to  the  Bishop  of  Exeter.  Those  two 
eminent  individuals  had  met  for  the  first  time  at  the 
hospitable  house  of  the  late  Mr.  Murray,  the  pub- 
lisher. On  the  introduction  taking  place,  the  bishop 
expressed  himself  so  warmly  as  to  the  pleasure  it 
gave  him  to  meet  so  distinguished  and  excellent  a 
man  as  Dr.  Chalmers,  that  the  Doctor  was  quite 
overcome,  and  in  a  deprecating  tone,  said,  "  Oh,  I 
.MI  sure  your  lordship  is  very  'discreet.'  " 

Enterteening  has  in  olden  Scottish  usage  the  sense 
not  of  amusing,  but  of  interesting.  I  remember  an 
honest  Dandie  Dinmont  on  a  visit  to  Bath.  A  lady, 
who  had  taken  a  kind  charge  of  him,  accompanied 
him  to  the  theatre,  and  in  the  most  thrilling  scene  of 
Kemble's  acting,  what  is  usually  termed  the  dagger 


lo6  Reminiscences    of 

scene  in  Macbeth,  she  turned  to  the  farmer  with  a 
whisper,  "  Is  not  that  fine  ?  "  to  which  the  confiden- 
tial reply  was,  "  Oh,  mem,  it's  verra  enterteening  !  " 
Enterteening  expressing  his  idea  of  the  interesting  ! 

Pigt  in  old-fashioned  Scotch,  was  always  used  for 
a  coarse  earthenware  jar  or  vessel.  In  the  life  of 
the  late  Patrick  Tytler,  the  amiable  and  gifted  his- 
torian of  Scotland,  there  occurs  an  amusing  exempli- 
fication of  the  utter  confusion  of  ideas  caused  by  the 
use  of  Scottish  phraseology.  The  family,  when  they 
went  to  London,  had  taken  with  them  an  old  Scot- 
tish servant  who  had  no  notion  of  any  terms  beside 
her  own.  She  came  in  one  day  greatly  disturbed  at 
the  extremely  backward  state  of  knowledge  of  do- 
mestic affairs  amongst  the  Londoners.  She  had  been 
to  so  many  shops  and  could  not  get  "  a  great  broon 
pig1  to  haud  the  butter  in." 

From  a  relative  of  the  family  I  have  received  an 
account  of  a  still  worse  confusion  of  ideas  caused  by 
the  inquiry  of  a  Mrs.  Chisholm  of  Chisholm,who 
died  in  London  in  1825,  at  an  advanced  age.  She 
had  come  from  the  country,  to  be  with  her  daughter, 
and  was  a  genuine  Scottish  lady  of  the  old  school. 
She  wished  to  purchase  a  table-cloth  of  a  cheque 
pattern  like  the  squares  of  a  chess  or  draft-board. 
Now  a  draft-board  used  to  be  called  (as  I  remember) 
by  old  Scotch  people  a  "  dam2-brod."8  Accord- 

1  Earthenware  vessel. 

2  dam,  the  game  of  drafts. 

3  brod,  the  board. 


Scottish   Life   <f    Character.          107 

ingly,  Mrs.  Chisholm  entered  the  shop  of  a  linen- 
draper,  and  asked  to  be  shown  table-linen  a  dam-broa 
pattern.  The  shopman,  although  taken  aback  by  a 
request,  as  he  considered  it,  so  strongly  worded,  by 
a  respectable  old  lady,  brought  down  what  he  assured 
her  was  the  largest  and  widest  made.  No  ;  that 
would  not  do.  She  repeated  her  wish  for  a  dam-brod 
pattern,  and  left  the  shop  surprised  at  the  stupidity 
of  the  London  shopman  not  having  the  pattern  she 
asked  for. 

Silly  has  in  genuine  old  Scottish  use  reference  to 
weakness  of  body  only,  and  not  of  mind.  Before 
knowing  the  use  of  the  word,  I  remember  being 
much  astonished  at  a  farmer  of  the  Mearns  telling 
me  of  the  strongest  minded  man  in  the  county  that 
he  was  "  growing  uncommon  silly,"  not  insinuating 
any  decline  of  mental  vigour,  but  only  meaning  that 
his  bodily  strength  was  giving  way. 

Frail^  in  like  manner,  expresses  infirmity  of  body, 
and  implies  no  charge  of  any  laxity  in  moral  prin- 
ciple ;  yet  I  have  seen  English  persons  looking  with 
considerable  consternation  when  an  old-fashioned 
Scottish  lady,  speaking  of  a  young  and  graceful  fe- 
male, lamented  her  being  so  frail. 

Fail  is  another  instance  of  different  use  of  words. 
In  Scotland  it  used  to  be  quite  common  to  say  of  a 
person  whose  health  and  strength  had  declined,  that 
he  had  failed.  To  say  this  of  a  person  connected 
with  mercantile  business  has  a  very  serious  effect 
upon  Southern  ears,  as  implying  only  bankruptcy 


108  Reminiscences   of 

and  ruin.  I  recollect  many  years  ago  at  Monmouth, 
a  Scottish  lady  creating  much  consternation  in  the 
mind  of  the  mayor,  by  saying  of  a  worthy  man,  the 
principal  banker  in  the  town,  whom  they  both  con- 
curred in  praising,  that  she  was  "  sorry  to  find  he 
was  falling. 

Honest  has  in  Scotch  a  peculiar  application,  irre- 
spective of  any  integrity  of  moral  character.  It  is 
a  kindly  mode  of  referring  to  an  individual,  as  we 
would  say  to  a  stranger,  "  Honest  man,  would  you 

tell  me  the  way  to ,"  or  as  Lord  Hermand, 

when  about  to  sentence  a  woman  for  stealing,  began, 
remonstratively,  "  Honest  woman,  what  garr'd  ye 
steal  your  neighbour's  tub." 

Superstitious :  A  correspondent  informs  me  that  in 
some  parts  of  Mid-Lothian,  the  people  constantly 
use  the  word  "  superstitious  "  for  "  bigoted  ;  "  thus, 
speaking  of  a  very  keen  Free  Church  person,  they 
will  say,  "  he  is  awfu'  supperstitious." 

Kail  in  England  simply  expresses  cabbage,  but  in 
Scotland  represents  the  chief  meal  of  the  day.  Hence 
the  old-fashioned  easy  way  of  asking  a  friend  to  din- 
ner was  to  ask  him  if  he  would  take  his  kail  with  the 
family.  In  the  same  usage  of  the  word,  the  Scottish 
proverb  expresses  distress  and  trouble  in  a  person's 
affairs,  by  saying  that  "  he  has  got  his  kail  through  the 
reek."  In  like  manner  Haddock,  in  Kincardineshire 
and  Aberdeenshire,  used  to  express  the  same  idea,  as 
the  expression  is,  "  Will  ye  tak  your  haddock  wi'  us 
the  day  ?  "  There  is  this  difference  however  in  the 


Scottish   Life  fy   Character.  109 

local  Usage,  that  to  say  in  Aberdeen,  Will  you  take 
your  haddock,  implies  an  invitation  to  dinner,  whilst 
in  Montrose  the  same  expression  means  an  invitation 
to  supper.  Differences  of  pronunciation  also  caused 
great  confusion  and  misunderstanding.  Novels  used 
to  be  pronounced  novels ;  envy  envy ;  a  cloak  was  a 
clock,  to  the  surprise  of  an  English  lady,  to  whom 
the  maid  said,  on  leaving  the  house,  "  Mem,  winna 
ye  tak  the  clock  wi'  ye." 

There  is  indeed  a  case  of  Scottish  pronunciation 
which  adds  to  the  force  and  copiousness  of  our  lan- 
guage, by  discriminating  four  words,  which  according 
to  English  speaking,  are  undistinguishable  from  pro- 
nunciation. The  words  are  —  wright  (a  carpenter), 
to  write  (with  a.  pen),  right  (the  reverse  of  wrong), 
rite  (a  ceremony).  The  four  are  however  distin- 
guished in  old-fashioned  Scotch  pronunciation,  thus 
—  I,  He's  a  wiricht ;  2,  to  wireete  ;  3,  richt ;  4,  rite. 

I  can  remember  a  peculiar  Scottish  phrase  very 
commonly  used,  which  now  seems  to  have  passed 
away.  I  mean  the  expression  "  to  let  on,"  indicating 
the  notice  or  observation  of  some  thing,  or  of  some 

person — For  example,   "I  saw   Mr.  ,  at  the 

meeting,  but  I  never  let  on  that  I  knew  he  was  pres- 
ent." A  form  of  expression  which  has  been  a  great 
favourite  in  Scotland,  in  my  recollection,  has  much 
gone  out  of  practice,  —  I  mean  the  frequent  use  of 
diminutives,  generally  adopted  either  as  terms  of  en- 
dearment or  of  contempt.  Thus,  it  was  very  common 
to  speak  of  a  person  whom  you  meant  rather  to  un- 


no  Reminiscences   of 

der value,  as  a  mannle^  a  bodle,  a  bit  bodie,  or  a  wee  bit 
mannie.  The  Bailie  in  Rob  Roy,  when  he  intended 
to  represent  his  party  as  persons  of  no  importance, 
used  the  expression,  "  We  are  bits  o'  Glasgow  bod- 
ies." In  a  popular  child's  song,  we  have  the  endear- 
ing expression,  tc  My  wee  bit  laddie."  We  have 
known  the  series  of  diminutives,  as  applied  to  the 
canine  race,  very  rich  in  diminution.  There  is  — 
I.  A  dog;  2.  A  doggie  ;  3.  A  bit  doggie  ;  4.  A  wee 
bit  doggie ;  and  even  5.  A  wee  bit  doggiekie.  A 
correspondent  has  supplied  me  with  a  diminutive, 
which  is  of  a  more  extravagant  degree  of  attenuation 
than  any  I  ever  met  with.  It  is  this  — ci  A  peerie 
wee  bit  o'  a  manikinie."  We  used  to  hear  such  ex- 
pressions as  those,  which  would  not  now  be  reckoned 
genteel :  "  Come  in  and  get  your  bit  dinner  j"  "  I 
hope  you  are  now  settled  in  your  ain  bit  housie." 
In  the  Caldwell  papers  (page  39)  we  have  an  inter- 
esting case  of  a  diminutive  happily  applied.  It  is 
recorded  in  the  family  that  Mrs.  Mure,  on  receiving 
from  David  Hume,  on  his  death-bed,  the  copy  of  his 
history,  which  is  still  in  the  library  of  Caldwell, 
marked  "  From  the  Author,"  she  thanked  him  very 
warmly,  and  added  in  her  native  dialect,  which  she 
and  the  historian  spoke  in  great  purity,  "  O  David, 
that's  a  book  ye  may  weel  be  proud  o',  but  before  ye 
dee  ye  should  burn  a'  your  wee  bukies  ;"  to  which, 
raising  himself,  he  replied  with  some  vehemence, 
half  offended,  half  in  joke  —  "  What  for  should  I 
burn  a'  my  wee  bukies  ?  "  He  was  too  weak  for 


Scottish   Life   fy   Character.          1 1 1 

discussion.     He  shook  her  hand  and  bade  her  fare- 
well. 

An  admirable  Scotch  expression  I  recollect  from 
one  of  the  Montrose  ladies  before  referred  to.  Her 
niece  was  asking  a  great  many  questions  on  some  point 
concerning  which  her  aunt  had  been  giving  her  infor- 
mation, and  coming  over  and  over  the  ground,  demand- 
ing an  explanation  how  this  had  happened,  and  why 
something  else  was  so  and  so.  The  old  lady  lost  her 
patience,  and  at  last  burst  forth  :  "  I  winna  be  back- 
speired  noo,  Pally  Fullerton."  Back-speired !  how 
much  more  pithy  and  expressive  than  cross-exam- 
ined !  Another  capital  expression  to  mark  that  a 
person  has  stated  a  point  rather  under  than  over  the 
truth,  is  "The  less  I  lee,"  as  in  Guy  Mannering, 
where  the  precentor  exclaims  to  Mrs.  MacCandlish, 
"  Aweel,  gudewife,  then  the  less  I  lee."  We  have 
found  it  a  very  amusing  task  collecting  together  a 
number  of  these  phrases,  and  forming  them  into  a 
connected  epistolary  composition.  We  may  imagine 
the  sort  of  puzzle  it  would  be  to  a  young  person 
of  the  present  day — .one  of  what  we  may  call  the 
new  school.  We  will  suppose  an  English  young 
lady,  or  an  English  educated  young  lady,  lately  mar- 
ried, receiving  such  a  letter  as  the  following  from  the 
Scottish  aunt  of  her  husband.  We  may  suppose  it  to 
be  written  by  a  very  old  lady,  who,  for  the  last  fifty 
years,  has  not  moved  from  home,  and  has  changed 
nothing  of  her  early  days.  I  can  safely  affirm  that 
every  word  of  it  I  have  either  seen  written  in  a  letter, 
or  have  heard  in  ordinary  conversation  :  — 


112  Reminiscences   of 

"  Montrose.1 

"  MY  DEAR  NIECE  —  I  am  real  glad  to  find  my 
nevy  has  made  so  good  a  choice  as  to  have  secured 
you  for  his  wife  j  and  I  am  sure  this  step  will  add 
much  to  his  comfort,  and  we  behove  to  rejoice  at  it. 
He  will  now  look  forward  to  his  evening  at  home, 
and  you  will  be  happy  because  you  will  never  want 
him.  It  will  be  a  great  pleasure  when  you  hear  him 
in  the  trance ,  and  wipe  his  feet  upon  the  bass.  But 
Willy  is  not  strong,  and  you  must  look  well  after 
him.  I  hope  you  do  not  let  him  snuff  so  much  as 
he  did.  He  had  a  sister,  poor  thing,  who  died  early. 
She  was  remarkably  clever,  and  well  read,  and  most 
intelligent,  but  was  always  uncommonly  silly?  In 
the  autumn  of  '40  she  had  a  sair  host,  and  was  aye 
speaking  through  a  cold,  and  at  dinner  never  did  more 
than  to  sup  a  few  family  broth.  I  am  afraid  she  did 
not  change  her  feet  when  she  came  in  from  the  wet 
one  evening.  I  never  let  on  that  I  observed  anything 
to  be  wrong  ;  but  I  remember  asking  her  to  come 
and  sit  upon  the  fire.  But  she  went  out  and  did  not 
take  the  door  with  her.  She  lingered  till  next  spring, 
when  she  had  a  great  income,  and  her  parents  were 
then  too  poor  to  take  her  south,  and  she  died.  I 
hope  you  will  like  the  lassie  Eppie  we  have  sent  you. 
She  is  a  discreet  girl,  and  comes  of  a  decent  family. 
She  has  a  sister  married  upon  a  Seceding  minister  at 
Kirkcaldy.  But  I  hear  he  expects  to  be  transported 

1  The  Scotticisms  are  printed  in  Italics. 

2  Delicate  in  health. 


Scottish   Life   fy   Character.          1 13 

soon.  She  was  brought  up  in  one  of  the  hospitals 
here.  Her  father  had  been  a  souter  and  a  pawky  chiel 
enough,  but  was  doited  for  years,  and  her  mother  was 
sair  dottled.  We  have  been  greatly  interested  in  the 
hospital  where  Eppie  was  educate^  and  intended  get- 
ting up  a  bazaar  for  it,  and  would  have  asked  you  to 
help  us,  as  we  were  most  anxious  to  raise  some  ad- 
ditional funds,  when  one  of  the  bailies  died  and  left 
it  io,OOO  pounds,  which  was  really  a  great  mortifica- 
tion. I  am  not  a  good  hand  of  wrlte^  and  therefore 
shall  stop;  I  am  very  tired,  and  have  been  gantir? 
for  this  half  hour,  and  even  in  correspondence  gant- 
in*  may  be  smittin9.  The  kitchen  }  is  just  coming  in, 
and  I  feel  a  smell  of  tea^  so  when  I  get  my  four  hours^ 
that  will  refresh  me  and  set  me  up  again.  —  I  am 
your  affectionate  aunt,  ISABEL  DINGWALL." 

This  letter,  then,  we  suppose  written  by  a  very 
old  Forfarshire  lady  to  her  niece  in  England,  and 
perhaps  the  young  lady  who  received  this  letter 
might  answer  it  in  a  style  as  strange  to  her  aunt  as 
her  aunt's  is  to  her,  especially  if  she  belonged  to  that 
lively  class  of  our  young  female  friends  who  indulge 
a  little  in  phraseology  which  they  have  imbibed  from 
their  brothers  or  male  cousins,  who  have  perhaps, 
for  their  amusement,  encouraged  them  in  its  use. 
The  answer,  then,  might  be  something  like  this  ; 
and  without  meaning  to  be  severe  or  satirical  upon 
our  young  lady  friends,  I  may  truly  say  that  though 
1  Tea-urn. 


114  Reminiscences  of 

I  never  heard  from  one  young  lady  all  these  fast 
terms )  I  have  heard  the  most  of  them  separately  from 
many  :  — 

"  MY  DEAR  AUNTY, — Many  thanks  for  your  kind 
letter  and  its  enclosure.  From  my  not  knowing 
Scotch,  I  am  not  quite  up  to  the  whole,  and  some 
of  the  expressions  I  don't  twig  at  all.  Willie  is 
absent  for  a  few  days,  but  when  he  returns  home 
he  will  explain  it ;  he  is  quite  awake  on  all  such 
things.  I  am  glad  you  are  pleased  that  Willie  and 
I  are  now  spliced.  I  am  well  aware  that  you  will 
hear  me  spoken  of  in  some  quarters  as  a  fast  young 
lady,  but  don't  believe  them.  We  are  certainly 
very  happy  at  present.  Willie  comes  home  from 
the  office  every  afternoon  at  five.  We  generally 
take  a  walk  before  dinner,  and  read  and  work  if  we 
don't  go  out ;  and  I  assure  you  we  are  very  jolly. 
We  don't  know  many  people  here  yet.  It  is 
rather  a  swell  neighbourhood ;  and  if  we  can't  get 
in  with  the  nobs,  depend  upon  it  we  will  never  take 
up  with  any  society  that  is  decidedly  snobby.  I 
daresay  the  girl  you  are  sending  will  be  very  useful 
to  us  ;  our  present  one  is  a  very  slow  coach.  But 
we  hope  some  day  to  sport  buttons.  My  father 
and  mother  paid  us  a  visit  last  week.  The  governor 
is  well,  and,  notwithstanding  years  and  infirmities, 
comes  out  quite  a  jolly  old  cove.  He  is,  indeed,  if 
you  will  pardon  the  partiality  of  a  daughter,  a  regular 
brick.  He  says  he  will  help  us  if  we  can't  get  on, 


Scottish   Life    fy   Character.          115 

and  I  make  no  doubt  will  in  due  time  fork  out  the 
tin.  I  am  busy  working  a  cap  for  you,  dear  aunty  j 
it  is  from  a  pretty  German  pattern,  and  I  think  when 
finished  will  be  quite  a  stunner.  I  have  a  shop  in 
Regent  Street,  where  I  hire  patterns  and  return  them 
without  buying  them,  which  I  think  a  capital  dodge. 
I  hope  you  will  sport  it  for  my  sake  the  first  tea-party 
you  give. 

"  I  have  nothing  particular  to  say,  but  am  always 
"  Your  affectionate  niece, 

"ELIZA    DlNGWALL." 

"P.  S.  —  I  am  trying  to  break  Willie  off  his 
horrid  habit  of  taking  snuff.  I  had  rather  see  him 
take  his  cigar  when  we  are  walking.  You  will  be 
told,  I  daresay,  that  I  sometimes  take  'a  weed  myself. 
It  is  not  true,  dear  aunty." 

Before  leaving  the  question  of  change  in  Scottish 
expressions,  it  may  be  proper  to  add  a  few  words  on 
the  subject  of  Scottish  dialects —  i.  <?.,  on  the  differ- 
ences which  exist  in  different  counties  or  localities  in 
the  Scottish  tongue  itself.  These  differences  used 
to  be  as  marked  as  different  languages  ;  of  course  they 
still  exist  among  the  peasantry  as  before.  The 
change  consists  in  their  gradual  vanishing  from  the 
conversation  of  the  educated  and  refined.  The  dia- 
lects with  which  I  am  most  conversant,  are  the  two 
which  present  the  greatest  contrast,  viz.,  the  Angus 
and  the  Aberdeen,  or  the  slow  and  broad  Scotch  — 


1 1 6  Reminiscences   of 

the  quick  and  sharp  Scotch.  Whilst  the  one  talks 
of"  buuts  and  shoon,"  the  other  calls  the  same  arti- 
cles "  beets  and  sheen."  With  the  Aberdonian, 
"  what  "  is  always  "fat,"  or  "  fatten,"  "  music  "  is 
"  meesic,"  "  brutes,"  are  "  breets  ;"  cc  What  are  ye 
duing,"  of  Southern  Scotch,  in  Aberdeen  would  be 
"  Fat  are  ye  deein'  ?  "  l  Thus,  when  a  Southerner 

1  Fergusson,  nearly  a  century  ago,  noted  this  peculiarity  of 
dialect  in  his  poem  of  The  Leith  Races  :  — 

*'  The  Buchan  bodies  through  the  beach, 

Their  bunch  of  Findrams  cry  ; 
And  skirl  out  bauld  in  Norland  speech, 
Gude  speldans,/a  will  buy." 

"  Findon,"  or  "  Finnan  haddies,"  are  split,  smoked,  and  par- 
tially dried  haddocks.  Fergusson,  in  using  the  word  "  Fin- 
drams,"  which  is  not  found  in  our  glossaries,  has  been  thought 
to  be  in  error,  but  his  accuracy  has  been  verified,  singularly 
enough,  within  the  last  few  days,  by  a  worthy  octogenarian 
Newhaven  fisherman,  bearing  the  characteristic  name  of 
Flucker,  who  remarked  *'  that  it  was  a  word  commonly  used 
in  his  youth  ;  and,  above  all,"  he  added,  "  when  Leith  Races 
were  held  on  the  sands  ye  was  like  to  be  deeved  wi'  the  lang- 
tongued  hizzies  skirling  out  lAell  a  Findram  Speldrains,"1  and 
they  jist  ca'ed  it  that  to  get  a  better  grip  o't  wi'  their  tongues." 

In  Galloway,  in  1684,  Symson,  afterwards  an  ousted  Episco- 
palian minister  (of  Kirkinner),  notes  some  peculiarities  in  the 
speech  of  the  people  in  that  district.  "  Some  of  the  countrey 
people,  especially  those  of  the  elder  sort,  do  very  often  omit 
the  letter  '  h  '  after  *  t '  as  ting  for  thing  ;  tree  for  three  ;  tatch 
for  thatch  ;  wit  for  with  ;  fait  for  faith  ;  mout  for  mouth,  etc. ; 
and  also,  contrary  to  some  north  countrey  people,  they  often- 
times pronounce  '  w  '  for  '  v,'  as  serwant  for  servant ;  and  so 
they  call  the  months  of  February,  March,  and  April  the  'ware 


Scottish   Life   fy    Character.    .       117 

mentioned  the  death  of  a  friend,  a  sharp  lady  of  the 
granite  city  asked  "  Fat  deed  he.  o'  ?  "  which  being 
utterly  incomprehensible  to  the  person  asked,  another 
Aberdonian  lady  kindly  explained  the  question,  and 
put  it  into  language  which  she  supposed  could  not  be 
mistaken,  as  thus,  <*Fat  did  he  dee  o'  ?  "  "  Doin  "  and 
"  dying  "  being  both  Aberdonice  "  deeing"  gave  rise 
to  an  amusing  equivoque  on  the  part  of  my  esteemed 
friend  Mr.  R.  Chambers.  In  the  summer  of  1859 
there  were  few  successful  fields  of  turnips.  Calling 
with  two  friends,  who  were  sufferers  in  this  way,  on 
a  Brechin  farmer  who  was  amongst  the  fortunate  ex- 
ceptions^ Mr.  Chambers  asked  him  about  his  turnips^ 
to  which  he  answered,  "  Ou,  they're  deem  rale 
weel ;"  when  Mr.  Chambers  affecting  to  misunder- 
stand as  to  the  phraseology,  turned  to  his  two  friends 
and  remarked,  "  You  see  it's  a  perishing  crop  every- 
where." Another  ludicrous  interrogatory  occurred 
regarding  the  death  of  a  Mr.  Thomas  Thomson. 
It  appeared  there  were  two  cousins  of  this  name, 
both  corpulent  men.  When  it  was  announced  that 
Mr.  Thomas  Thomson  was  dead,  an  Aberdeen  friend 

quarter,  from  ver'.1  Hence  their  common  proverb,  speaking 
of  the  stormes  in  February,  '  Winter  never  comes  till  eware 
contest  "  These  peculiarities  of  language  have  almost  disap- 
peared —  the  immense  influx  of  Irish  emigrants  during  late 
years  having  exercised  a  perceptible  influence  over  the  dialect 
of  Wigtonshire. 

1  Ver.     The  spring  months  —  e.  g. 

"  This  wes  in  <ver  quhen  wynter  tid."  —  Barbour. 


n  8  Reminiscences  of 

of  the  family  asked,  "  Fatten  Thamas  Thamson  ?  " 
He  was  informed  that  it  was  a  fat  Thomas  Thom- 
son, upon  which  the  Aberdeen  query  naturally  arose, 
"  Aye,  but  fatten  fat  Thamas  Thamson  ?  "  A 
young  lady  from  Aberdeen  had  been  on  a  visit  to 
Montrose,  and  was  disappointed  at  finding  there  a 
great  lack  of  beaus,  and  balls,  and  concerts.  This 
lack  was  not  made  up  to  her  by  the  invitations  which 
she  had  received  to  dinner  parties.  And  she  thus 
expressed  her  feelings  on  the  subject  in  her  native 
dialect,  when  asked  how  she  liked  Montrose,  "  In- 
deed there's  neither  men  nor  meesic,  and  fat  care  I 
for  meat."  The  dialect  and  the  local  feelings  of 
Aberdeen  were  said  to  have  produced  some  amuse- 
ment in  London,  when  displayed  by  the  lady  of  the 
Provost  of  Aberdeen  when  accompanying  her  hus- 
band going  up  officially  to  the  capital.  Some  per- 
sons to  whom  she  had  been  introduced  recommended 
her  going  to  the  opera  as  one  of  the  sights  worthy 
the  attention  of  a  stranger.  The  good  lady,  full  of 
the  greatness  of  her  situation  as  wife  of  the  provost, 
and  knowing  the  sensation  her  appearance  in  public 
occasioned  when  in  her  own  city,  and  supposing  that 
a  like  excitement  would  accompany  her  with  the  Lon- 
don public,  rather  declined,  under  the  modest  plea, 
"  Fat  for  should  I  gang  to  the  opera,  just  to  creat  a 
confeesion."  An  aunt  of  mine,  who  knew  Aberdeen 
well,  used  to  tell  a  traditionary  story  of  two  Aber- 
donian  ladies  who,  by  their  insinuations  against  each 
other,  finely  illustrated  the  force  of  the  dialect  then 


Scottish   Life   fy    Character.          i  ig 

in  common  use.  They  had  both  of  them  been  very 
attentive  to  a  sick  lady  in  declining  health,  and  on 
her  death  each  had  felt  a  distrust  of  the  perfect  dis- 
interestedness of  the  other's  attention.  This  created 
more  than  a  coolness  between  them,  and  the  bad  feel- 
ing came  out  on  their  passing  in  the  street.  The 
one  insinuated  her  suspicions  of  unfair  dealing  by 
the  property  of  the  deceased  by  ejaculating,  as  the 
other  passed  her,  "  henny  pig ]  and  green  tea,"  to 
which  the  other  retorted,  in  the  same  spirit,  u  Silk 
coat  and  negligee  !  "  2 

I  suppose  no  changes  of  the  last  half  century 
have  been  more  remarkable  than  those  which  have 
taken  place  in  the  dialect  and  general  manners  of 
our  Scottish  judges.  As  a  class  of  society,  they 
have  been,  of  course,  marked  men.  Many  were 
celebrated  for  humour,  conviviality,  and  a  consider- 
able degree  of  eccentricity  of  manners  and  habits  ; 
many  of  them  were  equally  remarkable,  too,  for 
acute  and  powerful  minds  —  distinguished  for  pro- 
found knowledge  of  law,  and  ready  tact  in  the 
application  of  its  general  principles.  I  have  two 
anecdotes  to  shew,  that,  both  in  social  and  judicial 
life,  a  remarkable  change  must  have  taken  place 
amongst  the  "  fifteen."  I  am  assured  that  the  fol- 
lowing scene  took  place  at  the  table  of  Lord  Pol- 
kemmet,  at  a  dinner  party  in  his  house.  When 
the  covers  were  removed,  the  dinner  was  seen  to 
consist  of  veal  broth,  a  roast  fillet  of  veal,  veal 

1  Honey  jar.  2  A  female  garment  then  in  common  use. 


1 2O  Reminiscences   of 

cutlets,  a  florentine  (an  excellent  old  Scottish  dish 
composed  of  veal),  a  calPs  head,  calf's  foot  jelly. 
The  worthy  judge  could  not  help  observing  a  sur- 
prise on  the  countenance  of  his  guests,  and  perhaps 
a  simper  on  some  j  so  he  broke  out  in  explanation  : 
cc  Ou  ay,  it's  a  cauf  j  when  we  kill  a  beast  we  just 
eat  up  ae  side  and  doun  the  tither."  The  expressions 
he  used  to  describe  his  own  judicial  preparations  for 
the  bench,  were  very  characteristic  :  "  Ye  see  I  first 
read  a'  the  pleadings,  and  then,  after  letting  them 
wamble  in  my  wame  wi'  the  toddy  twa  or  three 
days,  I  gie  my  ain  interlocutor."  For  a  moment 
suppose  such  anecdotes  to  be  told  now  of  any  of  our 
high  legal  functionaries.  Imagine  the  feelings  of 
surprise  that  would  be  called  forth  were  the  present 
Justice-Clerk  to  adopt  such  imagery  in  describing 
the  process  of  preparing  his  legal  judgment  on  a 
difficult  case  in  his  court ! 

In  regard  to  the  wit  of  the  Scottish  bar.  It  is  a 
subject  which  I  do  not  pretend  to  illustrate.  It 
would  require  a  volume  for  itself.  One  anecdote, 
however,  I  cannot  resist,  and  I  record  it  as  forming 
a  striking  example  of  the  class  of  Scottish  humour 
which,  with  our  dialect,  has  lost  its  distinctive  char- 
acteristics. John  Clerk  (afterwards  a  judge  by  the 
title  of  Lord  Eldin),  was  arguing  a  Scotch  appeal 
case  before  the  House  of  Lords.  His  client  claimed 
the  use  of  a  mill-stream  by  prescriptive  right.  Mr. 
Clerk  spoke  broad  Scotch,  and  argued  that  "  the 
waiter  had  rin  that  way  for  forty  years.  Indeed 


Scottish   Life   8f   Character.          121 

naebody  kenned  how  long,  and  why  should  his  client 
now  be  deprived  of  the  watter,  etc."  The  Chan- 
cellor, much  amused  at  the  pronunciation  of  the 
Scottish  advocate,  in  a  rather  bantering  tone,  asked 
him,  "  Mr.  Clerk,  do  you  spell  water  in  Scotland 
with  two  t's  ?  "  Clerk,  a  little  nettled  at  this  hit  at 
his  national  tongue,  answered,  "  Na,  my  lord,  we 
dinna  spell  watter  (making  the  word  as  short  as  he 
could)  wi'  twa  t's.  But  we  spell  mainners  (making 
the  word  as  long  as  he  could)  wi'  twa  n's." 

Under  this  head  of  Scottish  dialect,  language,  and 
phraseology,  we  naturally  introduce  some  notice  of 
that  most  interesting  subject  connected  with  our 
national  literature  which  belongs  to  Scottish  PRO- 
VERBIAL expressions.  It  is  an  old  remark,  that  the 
characteristics  of  a  people  are  always  found  in  such 
sayings,  and  the  expression  of  Bacon  has  been  often 
quoted  —  "  The  genius,  wit,  and  wisdom  of  a  nation 
are  discovered  by  their  proverbs."  Now,  as  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  there  are  proverbs  exclusively 
Scottish,  and  that  as  in  them  we  find  also  many  traits 
of  Scottish  character,  and  many  peculiar  forms  of 
Scottish  thought  and  Scottish  language,  sayings  of 
this  kind,  once  so  familiar,  should  have  a  place  in 
our  Scottish  reminiscences.  Indeed,  proverbs  are 
literally,  in  many  instances,  become  reminiscences 
They  now  seem  to  belong  to  that  older  generation 
whom  we  recollect,  and  who  used  them  in  conversa- 
tion freely  and  constantly.  To  strengthen  an  argu- 
ment, or  illustrate  a  remark  by  a  proverb,  was  then  a 
6 


1 22  Reminiscences    of 

common  practice  in  conversation.  Their  use,  how- 
ever, is  now  considered  vulgar,  and  their  formal  ap- 
plication is  almost  prohibited  by  the  rules  of  polite 
society.  Lord  Chesterfield  denounced  the  practice 
of  quoting  proverbs  as  a  palpable  violation  of  all 
polite  refinement  in  conversation.  Notwithstanding 
all  this,  we  acknowledge  having  much  pleasure  in 
recalling  our  national  proverbial  expressions.  They 
are  full  of  character,  and  we  find  amongst  them  im- 
portant truths,  expressed  forcibly,  wisely,  and  grace- 
fully. 

All  nations  have  their  proverbs,  and  a  vast  num- 
ber of  books  have  been  written  on  the  subject.  We 
find,  accordingly,  that  collections  have  been  made  of 
proverbs  considered  as  belonging  peculiarly  to  Scot- 
land. The  collections  to  which  I  have  had  access 
are  the  following  :  — 

1.  The  fifth  edition,  by  Balfour,  of  "  Ray's  Com- 
plete  Collection  of  English  proverbs,"  in  which  is 
a  separate  collection  of  those  which  are  considered 
Scottish  Proverbs — 1813.     Ray  professes    to  have 
taken  these  from  Fergusson's  work  mentioned  below. 

2.  A  Complete  Collection  of  Scottish    Proverbs 
explained  and  made  intelligible  to  the  English  reader, 
by  James  Kelly,  M.A.,  published  in  London  1721. 

3.  Scottish  Proverbs  gathered   together  by  David 
Fergusson,  sometime  minister  at  Dunfermline,  and 
put  ordlne  alpkabetico  when  he  departed  this  life  anno 
1598.     Edinburgh,  1641. 


Scottish   Life   fy    Character.          123 

4.  A  Collection  of  Scots  Proverbs,  dedicated  to 
the  Tenantry  of  Scotland,  by  Allan  Ramsay.     This 
collection    is  found    in   the   edition  of  his   Poetical 
Works,  3  vols.  post  octavo,  Edin.,  1818,  but  is  not 
in  the  handsome  edition  of  1800.     London,  2  vols. 
Svo.1 

5.  Scottish    Proverbs,  collected   and  arranged    by 
Andrew   Henderson.     With  an  Introductory  Essay 
by  W.  Motherwell.     Edin.  1832. 

6.  The  Proverbial  Philosophy  of  Scotland,  an  ad- 
dress to  the  School  of  Arts,  by  William  Stirling  of 
Keir,  M.P.     Stirling  and  Edin.  1855. 

The  collection  of  Ray,  the  great  English  natural- 
ist, is  well  known.  The  two  first  editions,  published 
at  Cambridge  in  1670  and  1678,  were  by  the  author; 
subsequent  editions  were  by  other  editors. 

The  work  by  James  Kelly  professes  to  collect 
Scottish  proverbs  only.  It  is  a  volume  of  nearly  400 
pages,  and  contains  a  short  explanation  or  commen- 
tary attached  to  each,  and  often  parallel  sayings  from 
other  languages.2  Mr.  Kelly  bears  ample  testimony 
to  the  extraordinary  free  use  made  of  proverbs  in  his 
time  by  his  countrymen  and  by  himself.  He  says 
that  "  there  were  current  in  society  upwards  of  3000 
proverbs,  exclusively  Scottish."  He  adds,  "  the 

1  This  was  pointed  out  to  me  by  Sir  John  Melville,  who 
kindly  supplied  me  with  the  3  volume  edition. 

2  Amongst  many  acts  of  kindness  and   essential  assistance 
which   I   have   received  and   am  constantly  receiving  from  my 
friend   Mr.  Hugh  James  Rollo,  I  owe  my  introduction   to  this 
interesting  Scottish  volume,  now  I  believe  rather  scarce. 


1 24  Reminiscences   of 

Scots  are  wonderfully  given  to  this  way  of  speaking, 
and  as  the  consequence  of  that,  abound  with  prov- 
erbs, many  of  which  are  very  expressive,  quick, 
and  home  to  the  purpose ;  and,  indeed,  this  humour 
prevails  universally  over  the  whole  nation,  especially 
among  the  better  sort  6f  the  commonalty,  none  of 
whom  will  discourse  with  you  any  considerable  time, 
but  he  will  affirm  every  assertion  and  observation 
with  a  Scottish  proverb.  To  that  nation  I  owe  my 
birth  and  education  ;  and  to  that  manner  of  speaking, 
I  was  used  from  my  infancy,  to  such  a  degree  that  I 
became  in  some  measure  remarkable  for  it."  This 
was  written  in  1721,  and  we  may  see  from  Mr.  Kel- 
ly's account  what  a  change  has  taken  place  in  society 
as  regards  this  mode  of  intercourse.  Our  author 
states  that  he  has  "  omitted  in  his  collection  many 
popular  proverbs  which  are  very  pat  and  expressive," 
and  adds  as  his  reason,  that  "  since  it  does  not  be- 
come a  man  of  manners  to  use  them,  it  does  not 
become  a  man  of  my  age  and  profession  to  write 
them."  What  was  Mr.  Kelly's  profession  or  what 
his  age  does  not  appear  from  any  statements  in  this 
volume  ;  but,  judging  by  many  proverbs  which  he 
has  retained^  those  which  consideration  of  years  and 
of  profession  induced  him  to  omit,  must  have  been 
bad  indeed,  and  unbecoming  for  any  age  or  any  pro- 
fession.1 The  third  collection  by  Mr.  Fergusson  is 
mentioned  by  Kelly  as  the  only  one  which  had  been 

1  Kelly's  book  is  constantly  quoted  by  Jamieson,  and  is,  in- 
deed, an  excellent  work  for  the  study  of  good  old  Scotch. 


Scottish   Life  fy   Character.  125 

made  before  his  time,  and  that  he  had  not  met  with 
it  till  he  had  made  considerable  progress  in  his  own 
collection.  The  book  is  now  extremely  rare,  and 
fetches  a  high  price.  By  the  great  kindness  of  the 
learned  librarian,  I  have  been  permitted  to  see  the 
copy  belonging  to  the  library  of  the  Writers  to  the 
Signet.  It  is  the  first  edition  and  very  rare.  A 
quaint  little  thin  volume,  such  as  delight  the  eyes  of 
true  bibliomaniacs,  unpaged,  and  published  at  Edin- 
burgh, 1641 —  although  on  the  title-page  the  prov- 
erbs are  said  to  have  been  collected  at  Mr.  Fergus- 
son's  death,  1598. l  There  is  no  preface  or  notice 
by  the  author,  but  an  address  from  the  printer,  "  to 
the  merrie,  judicious,  and  discreet  reader." 

The  proverbs,  amounting  to  945,  are  given  with- 
out any  comment  or  explanation  ;  many  of  them  are 
of  a  very  antique  cast  of  language  ;  indeed  some 
would  be  to  most  persons  quite  unintelligible  with- 
out a  lexicon. 

The  printer,  in  this  address,  "to  the  merrie, 
judicious,  and  discreet  reader,"  refers  in  the  follow- 
ing quaint  expressions  to  the  author  :  —  "  Therefore 
manie  in  this  realme  that  hath  hard  of  David  Fer- 
gusson,  sometime  minister  at  Dunfermline,  and  of 
his  quick  answers  and  speeches,  both  to  great  persons 
and  others  inferiours,  and  hath  heard  of  his  proverbs 
which  hee  gathered  together  in  his  time,  and  now 
we  put  downe  according  to  the  order  of  the  alpha- 

1  This  probably  throws  back  the  collection  to  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  century. 


1 26  Reminiscences    of 

bet ;  and  manie  of  all  ranks  of  persons,  being  verie 
desirous  to  have  the  said  proverbs,  I  have  thought 
good  to  put  them  to  the  presse  for  thy  better  satis- 
faction. ...  I  know  that  there  may  be  some 
that  will  say  and  marvell  that  a  minister  should  have 
taken  pains  to  gather  such  proverbs  together  ;  but 
they  that  knew  his  forme  of  powerfull  preaching  the 
woid,  and  his  ordinar  talking,  ever  almost  using 
proverbiall  speeches,  will  not  finde  fault  with  this 
that  hee  hath  done.  And  whereas  there  are  some 
old  Scottish  words  not  in  use  now,  bear  with  that, 
because  if  ye  alter  those  words,  the  proverb  will 
have  no  grace  ;  and  so,  recommending  these  prov- 
erbs to  thy  good  use,  I  bid  thee  farewell." 

I  now  subjoin  a  few  of  Fergusson's  Proverbs, 
verbatim,  which  are  of  a  more  obsolete  character, 
and  have  appended  explanations,  of  the  correctness 
of  which,  however,  I  am  not  quite  confident :  — 

A  year  a  nurisb,1  seven  year  a  da?  Refers,  I 
presume,  to  fulfilling  the  maternal  office. 

Anes  payit  never  cravlt.  Debts  once  paid  give 
no  more  trouble. 

All  wald*  have  all,  all  wald  forgie*  Those  who 
exact  much  should  be  ready  to  concede. 

A  gangang  5  fit 6  is  aye  7  gettln  (gin  8  it  were  but  a 
thorn),  or,  as  it  sometimes  run,  gin  it  were  but  a 
broken  tae,  i.  *.,  toe.  A  man  of  industry  will  cer- 
tainly get  a  living,  though  the  proverb  is  often 

1  Nurse.  2  Daw,  a  slut.  3  Would.  4  Forgive.  5  Going  or 
moving.  6  Foot.  7  Always.  8  If. 


Scottish   Life   fy   Character.          127 

applied  to  those  who  went  abroad  and  got  a  mischief 
when  they  might  safely  have  stayed  at  home.  — 
(Kelly.) 

All  crakes^  all  bears.2  Spoken  against  bullies 
who  keep  a  great  hectoring,  and  yet,  when  put  to  it, 
tamely  pocket  an  affront.  —  (Kelly.) 

Bourd^  not  wt'  bawtie.^  (lest  be  bite  you).  Do 
not  jest  too  familiarly  with  your  superiors  (Kelly), 
or  with  dangerous  characters. 

Bread?*  house  skailed  never.5  While  people  have 
bread  they  need  not  give  up  housekeeping.  Spoken 
when  one  has  bread  and  wishes  something  better.  — 
(Kelly.) 

Crabbit 6  was  and  cause  had.  Spoken  ironically  of 
persons  put  out  of  temper  without  adequate  cause. 

Dame^  deem  7  warily  ( ye  watna  8  wha  wytes  9  yer- 
sell). —  Spoken  to  remind  those  who  pass  harsh 
censures  on  others  that  they  may  themselves  be 
censured. 

Efter  lang  mint10  never  dint.11  Spoken  of  long  and 
painful  labour  producing  little  effect.  Kelly's  read- 
ing is  "  Lang  mint  little  dint"  Spoken  when  men 
threaten  much  and  dare  not  execute.  —  (Kelly.) 

Fill  fou 12  and  baud13  fou  maks  a  stark  14  man.  In 
Border  language  a  stark  man  was  one  who  takes  and 
keeps  boldly. 

1  Boasters.  2  Used  as  cowards  (?).  3  Jest.  *  A  dog's 
name.  5  To  skail  house,  to  disfurnish.  6  Being  angry  or  cross. 
7  Judge.  8  Know  not.  9  Blames.  10  To  aim  at.  U  A  stroke. 
12  Full.  13  Hold.  14  Potent  or  strong. 


1 28  Reminiscences   of 

He  that  crabbs  *  without  cause  should  mease  2  with- 
out mends.^  Spoken  to  remind  those  who  are  angry 
without  cause,  that  they  should  not  be  particular  in 
requiring  apologies  from  others. 

He  is  worth  na  weill  that  may  not  bide  na  wae. 
He  deserves  not  the  sweet  that  will  not  taste  the 
sour.  He  does  not  deserve  prosperity  who  cannot 
meet  adversity. 

Kame*  sindle5  kame  sair.Q  Applied  to  those  who 
forbear  for  a  while,  but  when  once  roused  can  act 
with  severity. 

Kamesters 7  are  aye  creeshieP  It  is  usual  for  men 
o  look  like  their  trade. 

Let  alone  makes  mony  lurden?  Want  of  correc- 
tion makes  many  a  bad  boy.  —  (Kelly.) 

Mony  tynesu  the  half  mark11  whinger12  (for  the 
halfe  pennie  whang.) 13  Another  version  of  penny 
wise  and  pound  foolish. 

Naplie^  is  best. 

Reavers 15  should  not  be  rewers.lQ  Those  who  are 
so  fond  of  a  thing  as  to  snap  at  it,  should  not  repent 
when  they  have  got  it.  —  (Kelly.) 

1  Is  angry.  2  Settle.  3  Amends.  4  Comb.  5  Seldom. 
6  Painfully.  ?  Wool  combers.  8  Greasy.  9  Worthless  fellow. 
1°  Loses.  ll  Sixpenny. 

12  A  sort  of  dagger  or  hanger  which  seems  to  have  been  used 
both  at  meals  as  a  knife  and  in  broils  — 

And  whingers  now  in  friendship  bare, 
The  social  meal  to  part  and  share, 
Had  found  a  bloody  sheath. —  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel. 
13 Thong.     W  No  lawsuit,     l5  Robbers.     16  Rue,  to  repent. 


Scottish   Life   fy   Character.          129 

Sokand  selll  is  test.  The  interpretation  of  this 
proverb  is  not  obvious,  and  later  writers  do  not 
appear  to  have  adopted  it  from  Fergusson.  It  is 
quite  clear  that  Sok  or  Sock  is  the  ploughshare.  Seil 
is  happiness,  as  in  Kelly.  u  Seil  comes  not  till 
sorrow  be  o'er  ;  "  and  in  Aberdeen  they  say,  cc  Seil 
o'  your  face,"  to  express  a  blessing.  My  reading  is 
"  the  plough  and  happiness  the  best  lot."  The 
happiest  life  is  the  healthy  country  one.  See  Robert 
Burns'  spirited  song  with  the  chorus  — 

"  Up  wi'  my  ploughman  lad, 
And  hey  my  merry  ploughman, 

Of  a'  the  trades  that  I  do  ken, 
Commend  me  to  the  ploughman." 

A  somewhat  different  reading  of  this  very  obscure 
and  now  indeed  obsolete  proverb  has  been  suggested 
by  an  esteemed  and  learned  friend  — u  I  should  say 
rather  it  meant  that  the  ploughshare,  or  country  life, 
accompanied  with  good  luck  or  fortune,  was  best ; 
/.  e.j  that  industry  coupled  with  good  fortune  (good 
seasons  and  the  like),  was  the  combination  that  was 
most  to  be  desired.  Seel  in  Anglo-Saxon  as  a  noun 
means  opportunity,  and  then  good  luck,  happiness,  etc. 

There  s  mae l  madines  2  nor  makines?  Girls  are 
more  plentiful  in  the  world  than  hares. 

Te  bried^  of  the  goukf  ye  have  not  a  rhyme  6  but  ane. 
Applied  to  persons  who  tire  every  body  by  constantly 
harping  on  one  subject. 

i  More.  2  Maidens.  3  Hares.  4  Take  after.  5  Cuckoo. 
8  Note. 

6* 


130  Reminiscences   of 

The  collection  by  Allan  Ramsay  is  very  good,  and 
professes  to  correct  the  errors  of  former  collectors. 
I  have  now  before  me  the  fir  st~  edition,  Edinburgh, 
1737,  with  the  appropriate  motto  on  the  title-page, 
"  That  maun  be  true  that  a'  men  say."  This  edition 
contains  proverbs  only,  the  number  being  2464. 
Some  proverbs  in  this  collection  I  do  not  find  in 
others,  and  one  quality  it  possesses  in  a  remarkable 
degree,  —  it  is  very  Scotch.  The  language  of  the 
proverbial  wisdom  has  the  true  Scottish  flavour ;  not 
only  is  this  the  case  with  the  proverbs  themselves, 
but  the  dedication  to  the  tenantry  of  Scotland,  pre- 
fixed to  the  collection,  is  written  in  pure  Scottish 
dialect.  From  this  dedication  I  make  an  extract, 
which  falls  in  with  our  plan  of  recording  Scotch 
reminiscences,  as  Allan  Ramsay  there  states  the 
great  value  set  upon  proverbs  in  his  day,  and  the 
importance  which  he  attaches  to  them  as  teachers  of 
moral  wisdom,  and  as  combining  amusement  with 
instruction.  The  prose  of  Allan  Ramsay  has,  too, 
a  spice  of  his  poetry  in  its  composition.  His  dedi- 
cation is,  To  the  tenantry  of  Scotland,  farmers  of 
the  dales,  and  storemasters  of  the  hills  — 

"  Worthy  friends  —  The  following  hoard  of  wise 
sayings  and  observations  of  our  forefathers,  which 
have  been  gathering  through  mony  bygane  ages,  I 
have  collected  with  great  care,  and  restored  to  their 
proper  sense.  .  .  . 

"As  naething  helps  our  happiness  mair  than  to 
have  the  mind  made  up  wi'  right  principles,  I  desire 


Scottish   Life  fy   Character.  131 

you,  for  the  thriving  an*  pleasure  of  you  and  yours, 
to  use  your  een  and  lend  your  lugs  to  these  guid  auld 
saws,  that  shine  wi'  wail'd  sense,  and  will  as  lang  as 
the  warld  wags.  Gar  your  bairns  get  them  by  heart ; 
let  them  have  a  place  among  your  family-books,  and 
may  never  a  window  sole  through  the  country  be 
without  them.  On  a  spare  hour,  when  the  day  is 
clear,  behind  a  ruck,  or  on  the  green  howm,  draw 
the  treasure  frae  your  pouch,  an'  enjoy  the  pleasant 
companion.  Ye  happy  herds,  while  your  hirdsell  are 
feeding  on  the  flowery  braes,  you  may  eithly  make 
yoursells  master  of  the  haleware.  How  usefou'  will 
it  prove  to  you  (wha  hae  sae  few  opportunities  of 
common  clattering)  when  ye  forgather  wi'  your 
friends  at  kirk  or  market,  banquet  or  bridal  !  By 
your  proficiency  you'll  be  able,  in  the  proverbial  way, 
to  keep  up  the  saul  of  a  conversation  that  is  baith 
blyth  an'  usefouV 

Mr.  Henderson's  work  is  a  compilation  from  those 
already  mentioned.  It  is  very  copious,  and  the  in- 
troductory essay  contains  some  excellent  remarks 
upon  the  wisdom  and  wit  of  Scottish  proverbial  say- 
ings. 

Mr.  Stirling's  address,  like  everything  he  writes, 
indicates  a  minute  and  profound  knowledge  of  his 
subject,  and  is  full  of  picturesque  and  just  views  of 
human  nature.  He  attaches  much  importance  to  the 
teaching  conveyed  in  proverbial  expressions,  and  rec- 
ommends his  hearers  even  still  to  collect  such  pro- 
verbial expressions  as  may  yet  linger  in  conversation, 


132  Reminiscences   of 

because,  as  he  observes,  "  If  it  is  not  yet  registered,  it 
is  possible  that  it  might  have  died  with  the  tongue  from 
which  you  took  it,  and  so  have  been  lost  for  ever." 
"  I  believe,"  he  adds,"  the  number  of  good  old  saws 
still  floating  as  waifs  and  strays  on  the  tide  of  popular 
talk  to  be  much  greater  than  might  at  first  appear." 

One  remark  is  applicable  to  all  these  collections, 
viz.,  that  out  of  so  large  a  number  there  are  many 
of  them  on  which  we  have  little  grounds  for  decid- 
ing that  they  are  exclusively  Scottish.  In  fact,  some 
are  mere  translations  of  proverbs  adopted  by  many  na- 
tions j  some  of  universal  adoption.  Thus  we  have  — 

A  burnt  bairn  fire  dreads. 

Ae  s'walloitj  makes  nae  simmer.  * 

Faint  heart  neer  'wan  fair  lady. 

Ill  'weeds  ivax  =weel. 

Mony  smas  mak  a  muckle. 

O  t-~wa  ills  chuse  the  least. 

Set  a  knave  to  grip  a  knave. 

Tiva  fwits  are  better  than  ane. 

There"**  naefule  to  an  auldfule. 

Ye  canna  make  a  silk  purse  o'  a  J<m»'j  lug. 

Ae  bird  /'  the  hand  is  'worth  fwa  fleeing. 

Mony  cooks  neer  made  gude  kail. 

Of  numerous  proverbs  such  as  these,  some  may 
or  may  not  be  original  in  the  Scottish.  Mr.  Stirling 
remarks,  that  many  of  the  best  and  oldest  proverbs 
may  be  common  to  all  people  —  may  have  occurred 
to  all.  In  our  national  collections,  therefore,  some  of 
the  proverbs  recorded  may  be  simply  translations  into 
Scotch  of  what  have  been  long  considered  the  prop- 


Scottish   Life    fy   Character.  133 

erty  of  other  nations.  Still,  I  hope,  it  is  not  a  mere 
national  partiality  to  say  that  many  of  the  common 
proverbs  gain  much  by  such  translation  from  other 
tongues.  All  that  I  would  attempt  now  is,  to  select 
some  of  our  more  popular  proverbial  sayings,  which 
many  of  us  can  remember  as  current  amongst  us, 
and  were  much  used  by  the  late  generation  in  society, 
and  to  add  a  few  from  the  collections  I  have  named, 
which  bear  a  very  decided  Scottish  stamp  either  in 
turn  of  thought  or  in  turn  of  language. 

I  remember  being  much  struck  the  first  time  I 
heard  the  application  of  that  pretty  Scottish  saying 
regarding  a  fair  bride.  I  was  walking  in  Montrose, 
a  day  or  two  before  her  marriage,  with  a  young  lady 
a  connection  of  mine,  who  merited  this  description, 
when  she  was  kindly  accosted  by  an  old  friend,  an 
honest  fishwife  of  the  town, <c  Weel,  Miss  Elizabeth, 
hae  ye  gotten  a'  yer  claes  ready ; "  to  which  the 
young  lady  modestly  answered,  "  Oh,  Janet,  my 
claes  are  soon  got  ready  ;  "  and  Janet  replied,  in 
the  old  Scottish  proverb,  "  Ay,  weel,  a  bonny  bride's 
sune  buskit."^-  In  the  old  collection,  an  addition  less 
sentimental  is  made  to  this  proverb,  A  short  horse  is 
sune  wispit? 

To  encourage  strenuous  exertions  to  meet  difficult  f 
circumstances,  is  well  expressed  by  Setting  a  stout  \ 
heart  to  a  stey  brae.     This  mode  of  expressing  that 
the  worth  of  a  handsome  woman  outweighs  even  her 
beauty  has  a  very  Scottish  character  —  She's   better 
1  Attired.  2  Curried. 


134  Reminiscences  of 

than  she's  bonny.  The  opposite  of  this  was  expressed 
by  a  Highlander  of  his  own  wife,  when  he  somewhat 
ungrammatically  said  of  her,  "  She's  bonnier  than 
she's  better." 

The  frequent  evil  to  harvest  operations  from  au- 
tumnal rains  and  fogs  in  Scotland,  is  well  told  in  the 
saying,  A  dry  summer  ne'er  made  a  dear  peck. 

There  can  be  no  question  as  to  country  in  the  fol- 
lowing, which  seems  to  express  generally  that  per- 
sons may  have  the  name  and  appearance  of  greatness 
without  the  reality  —  A?  Stuarts  are  na  sib  *  to  the 
king. 

There  is  an  excellent  Scottish  version  of  the  com- 
mon proverb,  "  He  that's  born  to  be  hanged  will 
never  be  drowned." — The  water  will  never  warr* 
the  widdie^  i.e.,  never  cheat  the  gallows.  This  say- 
ing received  a  very  na'ive  practical  application  during 
the  anxiety  and  alarm  of  a  storm.  One  of  the  pas- 
sengers, a  good  simple-minded  minister,  was  sharing 
the  alarm  that  was  felt  round  him,  until,  spying  one 
of  his  parishioners,  of  whose  ignominious  end  he  had 
long  felt  persuaded,  exclaimed  to  himself,  "  O,  we 
are  all  safe  now,"  and  accordingly  accosted  the  poor 
man  with  strong  assurances  of  the  great  pleasure  he 
had  in  seeing  him  on  board. 

It's  ill  getting  the  breeks  aff  the  Highlandman^  is 

a  proverb   that  savours   very  strong  of  a   Lowland 

Scotch  origin.     Having  suffered  loss  at  the  hands  of 

their  neighbours  from  the  hills,  this  was  a  mode  of 

1  Related,  2  Outrun. 


Scottish    Life    8f   Character.  135 

expressing  the  painful  truth,  that  there  was  little  hope 
of  obtaining  redress  from  those  who  had  not  the 
means  of  supplying  it. 

Proverbs  connected  with  the  bagpipes  I  set  down 
as  legitimate  Scotch,  as  thus,  Te  are  as  lang  in  tuning 
your  pipes  as  anither  wad  play  a  spring.1  You  are 
as  long  in  setting  about  a  thing  as  another  would  be 
in  doing  it. 

There  is  a  set  of  Scottish  proverbs  which  we  may 
.group  together  as  containing  one  quality  in  common, 
and  that  in  reference  to  the  Evil  Spirit,  and  to  his 
agency  in  the  world.  This  is  a  reference  often,  I 
fear,  too  lightly  made  ;  but  I  am  not  conscious  of 
anything  deliberately  profane  or  irreverent  in  the  fol- 
lowing :  — 

The  deiPs  nae  sae  ill  as  he's  caaed.  The  most  of 
people  may  be  found  to  have  some  redeeming  good 
point ;  applied  in  cc  Guy  Mannering  "  by  the  Deacon 
to  Gilbert  Glossin,  upon  his  intimating  his  intention 
to  come  to  his  shop  soon  for  the  purpose  of  laying 
in  his  winter  stock  of  groceries. 

To  the  same  effect,  It's  a  sin  to  lee  on  the  deih 
Even  of  the  worst  people,  truth  at  least  should  be 
spoken. 

He  should  hae  a  lang  shafted  spune  that  sups  kail 
w?  the  dell.  He  should  be  well  guarded  and  well 
protected  that  has  to  do  with  cunning  and  unprin- 
cipled men. 

Lang  er*   the  dell  dee  by  the  dyke-side.       Spoken 
l  Tune. 


1 36  Reminiscences    of 

when  the  improbable  death  of  some  powerful  and 
ill-disposed  person  is  talked  of. 

Let  ae  dell  ding  anlther.  Spoken  when  two  bad 
persons  are  at  variance  over  some  evil  work. 

The  dell's  bairns  bae  delV  s  luck.  Spoken  enviously 
when  ill  people  prosper. 

The  dell's  a  busy  bishop  in  his  aln  diode.  Bad  men 
are  sure  to  be  active  in  promoting  their  own  bad 
ends.  A  quaint  proverb  of  this  class  I  have  been 
told  of  as  corning  from  the  reminiscences  of  an  old^ 
lady  of  quality,  to  recommend  a  courteous  manner 
to  every  one  :  It's  aye  gude  to  be  ceevil^  as  the  auld 
wife  said  when  she  becklt *  to  the  deevll. 

Raise  nae  malr  dells  than  ye  are  able  to  lay.  Pro- 
voke no  strifes  which  ye  may  be  unable  to  appease. 

The  dell's  aye  gude  to  his  aln.  A  malicious  proverb, 
spoken  as  if  those  whom  we  disparage  were  deriving 
their  success  from  bad  causes. 

Te  wad  do  little  for  God  an  the  deevll  was  dead.  A 
sarcastic  mode  of  telling  a  person  that  fear,  rather  than 
love  or  principle,  is  the  motive  to  his  good  conduct. 

In  the  old  collection  already  referred  to,  is  a 
proverb  which  I  quote  unwillingly,  and  yet  which  I 
do  not  like  to  omit.  It  is  doubtful  against  whom 
it  took  its  origin,  whether  as  a  satire  against  the 
decanal  order  in  general,  or  against  some  obnoxious 
dean  in  particular  :  The  Dell  an  the  Dean  begin  w? 
ae  letter.  When  the  Dell  has  the  Dean  the  kirk  will 
be  the  better.  .  ' 

1  Curtsied. 


Scottish    Life    fy    Character.          137 

The  deiPs  gane  ower  Jock  Wabster^  is  a  saying 
which  I  have  been  accustomed  to  in  my  part  of  the 
country  from  early  years.  It  expresses  generally 
misfortune  or  confusion,  but  I  am  not  quite  sure  of 
the  exact  meaning,  or  who  is  represented  by  Jock 
Wabster.  It  was  a  great  favourite  with  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  who  quotes  it  twice  in  "  Rob  Roy."  Allan 
Ramsay  introduces  it  in  the  "  Gentle  Shepherd  "  to 
express  the  misery  of  married  life  when  the  first 
dream  of  love  has  passed  away :  — 

"  The  '  Deil  gaes  ower  Jock  Wabster,'  hame  grows  hell, 
When  Pate  misca's  ye  waur  than  tongue  can  tell." 

There  are  two  very  pithy  Scottish  proverbial  ex- 
pressions for  describing  the  case  of  young  women 
losing  their  chance  of  good  marriages,  by  setting 
their  aims  too  high.  Thus  an  old  lady,  speaking 
of  her  grand-daughter  having  made  what  she  con- 
sidered a  poor  match,  described  her  as  having 
cc  lookit  at  the  moon,  and  lichtit l  in  the  midden." 

It  is  recorded  again  of  a  celebrated  beauty,  Becky 
Monteith,  that  being  asked  how  she  had  not  made  a 
good  marriage,  having  replied,  "  Ye  see,  I  wadna 
hae  the  walkers,  and  the  riders  gaed  by." 

It9 s  ill  to  wauken  sleeping  dogs.  It  is  bad  policy  to 
rouse  dangerous  and  mischievous  people,  who  are  for 
the  present  quiet. 

//  is  nae  malr  pity  to  see  a  woman  greit  nor  to  see  a 
goose  go  barefit.  A  harsh  and  ungallant  reference  to 
l  Fell. 


138  Reminiscences  of 

the  facility  with  which  the  softer  sex  can  avail  them- 
selves of  tears  to  carry  a  point. 

A  Scots  mist  will  weet  an  Englishman  to  the  skin. 
A  proverb  evidently  of  Caledonian  origin,  arising 
from  the  frequent  complaints  made  by  English 
visitors  of  the  heavy  mists  which  hang  about  our 
hills,  and  which  are  found  to  annoy  the  southern 
traveller  as  it  'were  downright  rain. 

Keep  your  am  fish  guts  to  your  ain  sea  maws.  This 
was  a  favourite  proverb  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  when 
he  meant  to  express  the  policy  of  first  considering 
the  interests  that  are  nearest  home.  The  saying 
savours  of  the  fishing  population  of  the  east  coast. 

A  Tule  feast  may  be  done  at  Pasch.  P'estivities, 
although  usually  practised  at  Christmas,  need  not,  on 
suitable  occasions,  be  confined  to  any  season. 

It's  better  to  sup  w?  a  cutty  than  want  a  spune. 
Cutty  means  anything  short,  stumpy,  and  not  of  full 
growth  5  frequently  applied  to  a  short-handled  horn 
spoon.  As  Meg  Merrilees  says  to  the  bewildered 
Dominie,  "  If  ye  dinna  eat  instantly,  by  the  bread  and 
salt,  I'll  put  it  down  your  throat  wi*  the  cutty  spune" 

u  Fules  mak  feasts  and  wise  men  eat  V/z,  my 
Lord."  This  was  said  to  a  Scottish  nobleman  on 
his  giving  a  great  entertainment,  and  who  readily 
answered,  "  Ay,  and  Wise  men  make  proverbs  and 
fools  repeat  9em." 

A  green  Tule 1  and  a  white  Pays  2  mak  a  fat  kirk- 
yard.  A  very  coarse  proverb,  but  may  express  a 
1  Christmas.  2  Pasch  or  Easter. 


Scottish    Life    8f   Character. 

general  truth  as  regards  the  effects  of  season  on  the 
human  frame.  Another  of  a  similar  character  is, 
An  air  *  winter  maks  a  sair  2  winter. 

Who.  will  bell  the  cat  ?  The  proverb  is  used  in 
reference  to  a  proposal  for  accomplishing  a  difficult 
or  dangerous  task,  and  alludes  to  the  fable  of  the 
poor  mice  proposing  to  put  a  bell  about  the  cat's 
neck,  that  they  might  be  apprised  of  his  coming. 
The  historical  application  is  well  known.  When 
the  nobles  of  Scotland  proposed  to  go  in  a  body  to 
Stirling  to  take  Cochrane,  the  favourite  of  James  the 
Third,  and  hang  him,  the  Lord  Gray  asked,  "  It  is 
well  said,  but  wha  will  bell  the  cat  ?  "  The  Earl  of 
Angus  accepted  the  challenge,  and  effected  the  ob- 
ject. To  his  dying  day  he  was  called  Archibald 
Bell-the-Cat. 

Ye  hae  tint  the  tongue  o*  the  trump.  "  Trump  " 
is  a  Jew's  harp.  To  lose  the  tongue  of  it  is  to  lose 
what  is  essential  to  its  sound. 

Meat  and  mass  hinders  nae  man.  Needful  food, 
and  suitable  religious  exercises,  should  not  be  spared 
under  greatest  haste. 

Ye  fand  it  whar  the  highland  man  fand  the  tangs 
(i.e.)  at  the  fireside).  A  hit  at  our  mountain  neigh- 
bours, who  occasionally  took  from  the  Lowlands  — 
as  having  found  —  something  that  was  never  lost. 

His  head  will  ne'er  fill  his  father's  bonnet.    A  pic- 
turesque way  of  expressing  that  the  son  will  never 
equal  the  influence  and  ability  of  his  sire. 
1  Early.  2  Severe. 


140  Reminiscences  of 

His  bark  is  waur  nor  his  bite.  A  good-natured 
apology  for  one  who  is  good-hearted  and  rough  in 
speech. 

Do  as  the  cow  of  Forfar  dld^  tak  a  standing  drink. 
This  proverb  relates  to  an  occurrence  which  gave  rise 
to  a  law-suit,  and  a  whimsical  legal  decision.  A 
woman  in  Forfar,  who  was  brewing,  set  out  her  tub 
of  beer  to  cool.  A  cow  came  by  and  drank  it  up. 
The  owner  of  the  cow  was  sued  for  compensation, 
but  the  bailies  of  Forfar,  who  tried  the  case,  acquitted 
the  owner  of  the  cow  on  the  ground  that  the  fare- 
well drink,  called  in  the  Highlands  the  dochan  doris^- 
or  stirrup  cup,  taken  by  the  guest  standing  at  the 
door,  was  never  charged,  and  as  the  cow  had  taken 
but  a  standing  drink  outside,  it  could  not,  according 
to  Scottish  usage,  be  chargeable.  Sir  Walter  Scott 
has  humorously  alluded  to  this  circumstance  in  the 
notes  to  "  Waverley,"  but  has  not  mentioned  it  as 
the  subject  of  an  old  Scotch  proverb. 

Bannocks  are  better  nor  nae  kind  o*  bread.  Evident- 
ly Scottish.  Better  have  oatmeal  cakes  to  eat  than 
be  in  want  of  wheaten  loaves. 

Folly  is  a  bonny  dog.  Meaning,  I  suppose,  that 
many  are  imposed  upon  by  the  false  appearances  and 
attractions  of  vicious  pleasures. 

The  evening  brings  a'  hame^  is  an  interesting  saying, 
meaning,  that  the  evening  of  life,  or  the  approach 

1  The  proper  orthography  of  this  expression  is  deoch-an- 
doruis  (or  dorais).  Deoch,  a  drink ;  an,  of  the  ;  doruls  or  do- 
ra'iSy  possessive  case  of  dorus  or  doras,  a  door. 


Scottish   Life    8f   Character.  141 

of  death,  softens  many  of  our  political  and  religious 
differences.  I  do  not  find  this  proverb  in  the  older 
collections,  but  Mr.  Stirling  justly  calls  it  "a  beauti- 
ful proverb,  which,  lending  itself  to  various  uses, 
may  be  taken  as  an  expression  of  faith  in  the  gradual 
growth  and  spread  of  large-hearted  Christian  charity, 
the  noblest  result  of  our  happy  freedom  of  thought 
and  discussion."  The  literal  idea  of  the  "  e'ening 
bringing  a'  hame,"  has  a  high  and  illustrious  antiqui- 
ty, as  in  the  fragment  of  Sappho,  Earner,  Travra  0ep«f — 
(j>speic  oiv  (or  olvov)  (pspeif  al-ya,  <j>epei<;  //crept  natda  —  which  is 

thus  paraphrased  by  Lord  Byron  in  cl  Don  Juan,"  iii. 

107:  — 

O  Hesperus  !  thou  bringest  all  good  things  — 
Home  to  the  weary,  to  the  hungry  cheer ; 

To  the  young  bird  the  parent's  brooding  wings, 
The  welcome  stall  to  the  o'erlaboured  steer ;  etc. 

Thou  bring'st  the  child,  too,  to  the  mother's  breast. 

A  similar  graceful  and  moral  saying  inculcates  an 
acknowledgment  of  gratitude  for  the  past  favours 
which  we  have  enjoyed  when  we  come  to  the  close 
of  the  day  or  the  close  of  life  — 

Ruse  *  the  fair  day  at  e'en. 

But  a  very  learned  and  esteemed  friend  has  suggested 
another  reading  of  this  proverb,  in  accordance  with 
the  celebrated  saying  of  Solon  (Arist.  Eth.  N.  I.  10) : 
Kara  26Xwa  xpewv  reAof  6pdv  —  Do  not  praise  the  fairness 
of  the  day  till  evening  ;  do  not  call  the  life  happy  //// 
1  Praise. 


142  Reminiscences   of 

you  have  seen  the  close  ;  or,  in  other  matters,  do  not 
boast  that  all  is  well  till  you  have  conducted  your  un- 
dertaking to  a  prosperous  end. 

Let  him  tak  a  spring  on  his  am  fiddle.  Spoken  of 
a  foolish  and  unreasonable  person  as  if  to  say,  "  We 
will  for  the  present  allow  him  to  have  his  own  way." 
Bailie  Nicol  Jarvie  quotes  the  proverb  with  great  bit- 
terness, when  he  warns  his  opponent  that  his  time 
for  triumph  will  come  ere  long,  —  "  Aweel,  aweel, 
sir,  you're  welcome  to  a  tune  on  your  ain  fiddle ;  but 
see  if  I  dinna  gar  ye  dance  till't  afore  it's  dune." 

The  kirk  is  meikle,  but  ye  may  say  mass  in  ae  end  (ft; 
or,  as  I  have  received  it  in  another  form,  u  If  we 
canna  preach  in  the  kirk,  we  can  sing  mass  in  the 
quire."  This  intimates,  where  something  is  alleged 
to  be  too  much,  that  you  need  take  no  more  than 
what  you  have  need  for.  I  heard  the  proverb  used 
in  this  sense  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  at  his  own  table. 
His  son  had  complained  of  some  quaighs  which  Sir 
Walter  had  produced  for  a  dram  after  dinner,  that 
they  were  too  large.  His  answer  was,  u  Well,  Wal- 
ter, as  my  good  mother  used  to  say,  if  the  kirk  is 
ower  big,  just  sing  mass  in  the  quire."  Here  is 
another  reference  to  kirk  and  quire  —  He  rives 1  the 
kirk  to  theik  2  the  quire.  Spoken  of  unprofitable  per- 
sons, who,  in  the  English  proverb,  cc  rob  Peter  to 
pay  Paul." 

The  king's  errand  may  come  the  cadger's  gate  yet. 
A  great  man  may  need  the  service  of  a  very  mean  one. 
l  Tears.  2  Thatch. 


Scottish   Life    Sf   Character. 

The  maut  is  aboon  the  meal.  His  liquor  has  done 
more  for  him  than  his  meat.  The  man  is  drunk. 

Mak  a  kirk  and  a  null  <?t.  Turn  a  thing  to  any 
purpose  you  like  ;  or  rather,  spoken  sarcastically, 
Take  it,  and  make  the  best  of  it. 

Like  a  sow  playing  on  a  trump.  No  image  could 
be  well  more  incongruous  than  a  pig  performing  on 
a  Jew's  harp. 

Mair  by  luck  than  gude  guiding.  His  success  is 
due  to  his  fortunate  circumstances,  rather  than  to 
his  own  discretion. 

He's  not  a  man  to  ride  the  water  w?.  A  common 
Scottish  saying  to  express  you  cannot  trust  such  an 
one  in  trying  times.  May  have  arisen  from  the 
districts  where  fords  abounded,  and  the  crossing 
them  was  dangerous. 

He  rides  on  the  riggin  o'  the  kirk.  The  riggin 
being  the  top  of  the  roof,  the  proverb  used  to  be 
applied  to  those  who  carried  their  zeal  for  church 
matters  to  the  extreme  point. 

Leal  heart  never  leed^  well  expresses  that  an  honest 
loyal  disposition  will  scorn,  under  all  circumstances, 
to  tell  a  falsehood. 

A  common  Scottish  proverb,  Let  that  flee  stick  to 
the  wa\  has  an  obvious  meaning,  —  "Say  nothing 
more  on  that  subject."  But  the  derivation  is  not 
obvious.1  In  like  manner,  the  meaning  of  He  that 


1  It  has  been   suggested,   and  with   much   reason,  that   the 
reference  is  to  a  flee  sticking  on  a  wet  or  a  newly  painted  wall ; 


144  Reminiscences  of 

will  to  Cupar  maun  to  Cupar^  is  clearly  that  if  a  man 
is  obstinate,  and  bent  upon  his  dangerous  course,  he 
must  take  it.  But  why  Cupar  ?  and  whether  is  it 
the  Cupar  of  Angus  or  the  Cupar  of  Fife? 

Kindness  creeps  -where  it  canna  gang^  prettily  ex- 
presses that  where  love  can  do  little  it  will  do  that 
little  though  it  cannot  do  more. 

In  my  part  of  the  country  a  ridiculous  addition 
used  to  be  made  to  the  common  Scottish  saying, 
Mony  a  thing's  made  for  the  pennie^  i.  e.,  many  con- 
trivances are  thought  of  to  get  money.  The  addition 
is,  "  As  the  old  woman  said  when  she  saw  a  black 
man,"  —  taking  it  for  granted  that  he  was  an  in- 
genious and  curious  piece  of  mechanism  made  for 
profit. 

Bluid  is  thicker  than  water^  is  a  proverb  which 
has  a  marked  Scottish  aspect,  as  meant  to  vindicate 
those  family  predilections  to  which,  as  a  nation,  we 
are  supposed  to  be  rather  strongly  inclined. 

There's  aye  water  where  the  stirkie1  drouns. 
Where  certain  effects  are  produced,  there  must  be 
some  causes  at  work  —  a  proverb  used  to  shew  that 
a  universal  popular  suspicion  as  to  an  obvious  effect 
must  be  laid  in  truth. 

Better  a  finger  off  than  aye  waggin\  This 
proverb  I  remember  as  a  great  favourite  with  many 

this  is  corroborated  by  the  addition  in  "  Rob  Roy,"  "  When 
the  dirt's  dry,  it  will  rub  out,"  which  seems  to  point  out  the 
meaning  and  derivation  of  the  proverb. 
1  A  young  bullock. 


Scottish    Life    8f    Character.          145 

Scotch  people.  Better  experience  the  worst,  than 
have  an  evil  always  pending. 

Cadgers  are  aye  cracking  o*  crook-saddle's^-  has  a 
very  Scottish  aspect,  and  signifies  that  professional 
men  are  very  apt  to  talk  too  much  of  their  profes- 
sions. 

As  sure's  deeth.  A  common  Scottish  proverbial 
expression  to  signify  either  the  truth  or  certainty  of 
a  fact,  or  to  pledge  the  speaker  to  a  performance  of 
his  promise.  In  the  latter  sense  an  amusing  illus- 
tration of  faith  in  the  superior  obligation  of  this  as- 
severation to  any  other,  is  recorded  in  the  "  Eglinton 
Papers."  2  The  Earl  one  day  found  a  boy  climbing 
up  a  tree,  and  called  him  to  come  down.  The  boy 
declined,  because,  he  said,  the  Earl  would  thrash 
him.  His  lordship  pledged  his  honour  that  he 
would  not  do  so.  The  boy  replied,  "  I  dinna  ken 
onything  about  your  honour,  but  if  ye  say  as  sure's 
deeth,  Pll  come  doun." 

Proverbs  are  sometimes  local  in  their  application. 

The  men  o*  the  Mearns  manna  do  malr  than  they 
may.  Even  the  men  of  Kincardineshire  can  only 
do  their  utmost — a  proverb  intended  to  be  highly 
complimentary  to  the  powers  of  the  men  of  that 
county. 

/'//  mak  Cathkin's  covenant  with  you^  Let  abee  for 
let  abee.  This  is  a  local  saying  quoted  often  in 
Hamilton.  The  laird  of  that  property  had  —  very 
unlike  the  excellent  family  who  have  now  possessed 

1  Saddle  for  supporting  panniers.        2  Vol.  I.,  page  134. 

7 


146  Reminiscences   of 

it  for  more  than  a  century  —  been  addicted  to  in- 
temperance. One  of  his  neighbours,  in  order  to 
frighten  him  on  his  way  home  from  his  evening 
potations,  disguised  himself  in  a  very  dark  night,  and 
personating  the  devil,  claimed  a  title  to  carry  him  off 
as  his  rightful  property.  Contrary  to  all  expecta- 
tion, however,  the  laird  showed  fight,  and  was  about 
to  commence  the  onslaught,  when  a  parley  was  pro- 
posed, and  the  issue  was  "  Cathkin's  covenant,  Let 
abee  for  let  abee." 

When  the  castle  of  Stirling  gets  a  hat^  the  carse  of 
Corntown  pays  for  that.  This  is  a  local  proverbial 
saying ;  the  meaning  is,  that  when  the  clouds 
descend  so  low  as  to  envelope  Stirling  Castle,  a 
deluge  of  rain  may  be  expected  in  the  adjacent 
country. 

I  will  conclude  this  notice  of  our  proverbial  rem- 
iniscences, by  adding  a  cluster  of  Scottish  proverbs, 
selected  from  an  excellent  article  on  the  general  sub- 
ject in  the  u  North  British  Review "  of  February 
1858.  The  reviewer  designates  these  as  "  broader  in 
their  mirth,  and  more  caustic  in  their  tone,"  than  the 
moral  proverbial  expressions  of  the  Spanish  and 
Italian  :  — 

A  blate  '  cat  maks  a  proud  mouse. 
Better  a  toom  %  house  than  an  ill  tenant, 
jfouk  3  and  let  tbejaiv  4  gang  by. 
Mony  ane  speirs  the  gate  5  he  kens  fit*  iveel. 

1  Shy.  2  Empty.  3  Stoop  down. 

4  Wave.  5  The  way. 


Scottish   Life    8f   Character.  147 

'The  tod  1  ne'er  sped  better  than  when  he  gaed  his  am  er- 
rand. 

A  wilfu1  man  should  be  unco  wise. 

He  that  has  a  meikle  nose  thinks  ilka  ane  speaks  o'/. 

He  that  teaches  himsel  has  a  fule  for  his  maister. 

It  is  an  ill  cause  that  the  lawyer  thinks  shame  o'. 

Lippen  2  to  me,  but  look  to  your  sell. 

Mair  whistle  than  1000,  as  the  s outer  said  when  shearing 
the  soo. 

Te  gae  far  about  seeking  the  nearest. 

Ye^ll  no  sell  your  hen  in  a  rainy  day. 

Ye'1  II  mend  when  ye  grow  better. 

Ye^re  nae  chicken  for  a"1  your  cheepiri1? 

I  have  now  adduced  quite  sufficient  specimens  to 
convince  those  who  may  not  have  given  attention  to 
the  subject,  how  much  of  wisdom,  knowledge  of 
life,  and  good  feeling,  are  contained  in  these  apho- 
risms which  compose  the  mass  of  our  Scottish  pro- 
verbial sayings.  No  doubt,  to  many  of  my  younger 
readers,  proverbs  are  little  known,  and  to  all  they  are 
becoming  more  and  more  matters  of  reminiscence. 
I  am  quite  convinced  that  much  of  the  old  quaint 
and  characteristic  Scottish  talk  which  we  are  now 
endeavouring  to  recall,  depended  on  a  happy  use  of 
those  abstracts  of  moral  sentiment.  And  this  feeling 
will  be  confirmed  when  we  call  to  mind  how  often 
those  of  the  old  Scottish  school  of  character,  whose 
conversation  we  have  ourselves  admired,  had  most 
largely  availed  themselves  of  the  use  of  its  proverbial 
philosophy. 

l  Fox.  2  Trust  to.  3  Chirping. 


CHAPTER  V. 


ON  SCOTTISH  STORIES  OF  WIT  AND  HUMOUR. 


HE  portion  of  our  subject,  which  we  pro- 
posed under  the  head  of  ct  Reminiscences 
of  Scottish  Stories  of  Wit  or  Humour/* 
yet  remains  to  be  considered.  This  is 
closely  connected  with  the  question  of  Scottish  dia- 
lect and  expressions  j  indeed,  on  some  points  hardly 
separable,  as  the  wit,  to  a  great  extent,  proceeds  from 
the  quaint  and  picturesque  modes  of  expressing  it. 
But  here  we  are  met  by  a  difficulty.  On  high  au- 
thority it  has  been  declared  that  no  such  thing  as  wit 
exists  among  us.  What  has  no  existence  can  have 
no  change.  We  cannot  be  said  to  have  lost  a  qual- 
ity which  we  never  possessed.  Many  of  my  readers 
are  no  doubt  familiar  with  what  Sidney  Smith  de- 
clared on  this  point,  and  certainly  on  the  question  of 
wit  he  must  be  considered  an  authority.  He  used  to 
say  (I  am  almost  ashamed  to  repeat  it),  "  It  requires 
a  surgical  operation  to  get  a  joke  well  into  a  Scotch 
understanding.  Their  only  idea  of  wit,  which  pre- 
vails occasionally  in  the  north,  and  which,  under  the 
name  of  WUT,  is  so  infinitely  distressing  to  peo- 


Scottish  Life  Sf  Character.  149 

pie  of  good  taste,  is  laughing  immoderately  at  stated 
intervals."  Strange  language  to  use  of  a  country 
which  has  produced  Smollett,  Burns,  Scott,  Gait, 
and  Wilson,  all  remarkable  for  the  humour  diffused 
through  their  writings.  Indeed,  we  may  fairly  ask, 
have  they  equals  in  this  respect  amongst  English 
writers  ?  Charles  Lamb  had  the  same  notion,  or,  I 
should  rather  say,  the  same  prejudice,  about  Scottish 
people  not  being  accessible  to  wit}  and  he  tells  a 
story  of  what  happened  to  himself  in  corroboration 
of  the  opinion.  He  had  been  asked  to  a  party,  and 
one  object  of  the  invitation  had  been  to  meet  a  son 
of  Burns.  When  he  arrived,  Mr.  Burns  had  not 
made  his  appearance,  and  in  the  course  of  conversa- 
tion regarding  the  family  of  the  poet,  Lamb,  in  his 
lack-a-daisical  kind  of  manner,  said  "  I  wish  it  had 
been  the  father  instead  of  the  son  ;  "  upon  which 
four  Scotchmen  present  with  one  voice  exclaimed, 
"  That's  impossible,  for  his  dead}  Now,  there  will 
b"e  dull  men  and  matter-of-fact  men  everywhere  who 
do  not  take  a  joke  or  enter  into  a  jocular  aHusion  ; 
but  surely,  as  a  general  remark,  this  is  far  from  being 
a  natural  quality  of  our  country.  Sydney  Smith  and 
Charles  Lamb  say  "so.  But  at  the  risk  of  being  con- 
sidered presumptuous,  I  will  say  I  think  them  entirely 

1  After  all,  the  remark  may  not  have  been  so  absurd  then  as 
it  appears  now.  Burns  had  not  been  long  dead,  nor  was  he 
then  so  noted  a  character  as  he  is  now.  The  Scotchmen  might 
really  have  supposed  a  Southrener  unacquainted  with  the  fact 
of  the  poet's  death. 


150  Reminiscences  of 

mistaken.  I  should  say  that  there  was,  on  «-he  con- 
trary, a  strong  connection  between  the  Scottish  tem- 
perament, and,  call  it  if  you  like,  humour  if  it  is 
not  wit.  And  what  is  the  difference  ?  My  readers 
may  not  be  afraid  that  they  are  to  be  led  through  a 
labyrinth  of  metaphysical  distinctions  between  wit 
and  humour.  I  have  read  Dr.  Campbell's  disserta- 
tion on  the  difference  in  his  philosophy  of  rhetoric,  I 
have  read  S.  Smith's  own  two  lectures,  but  I  confess 
I  am  not  much  the  wiser.  Professors  of  rhetoric, 
no  doubt,  must  have  such  discussions,  but  when  you 
wish  to  be  amused  by  the  thing  itself,  it  is  somewhat 
disappointing  to  be  presented  with  metaphysical  analy- 
sis. It  is  like  instituting  an  examination  of  the  glass 
and  cork  of  a  champagne  bottle,  and  a  chemical  test- 
ing of  the  wine.  In  the  very  process  the  volatile  and 
sparkling  draught  which  was  to  delight  the  palate, 
has  become  like  ditch  water,  vapid  and  dead.  What 
I  mean  is,  that,  call  it  wit  or  humour,  or  what  you 
please,  there  is  a  school  of  Scottish  pleasantry,  amus- 
ing and  characteristic  beyond  all  other.  Don't  think 
of  analysing  its  nature,  or  the  qualities  of  which  it  is 
composed  ;  enjoy  its  quaint  and  amusing  flow  of  odd- 
ity and  fun  ;  as  we  may,  for  instance,  suppose  it  to 
have  flowed  on  that  eventful  night  so  joyously  de- 
scribed by  Burns  :  — 

"  The  souter  tauld  his  queerest  stories, 
The  landlord's  laugh  was  ready  chorus." 

Or  we  may  think  of  the  delight  it  gave  the  good  Mr. 
Balwhidder,  when  he  tells,  in  his  "  Annals  of  the  Par- 


Scottish  Life  8f  Character.  151 

ish,"  of  some  such  story,  that  it  was  a  "jocosity  that 
was  just  a  kittle  to  hear."  When  I  speak  of  changes 
in  sjch  Scottish  humour  which  have  taken  place,  I 
refer  to  a  particular  sort  of  humour,  and  I  speak  of 
the  sort  of  feelings  that  belongs  to  Scottish  pleasant- 
ry ?  —  which  is  sly,  and  cheery,  and  pawky.  It  is, 
undoubtedly,  a  humour  that  depends  a  good  deal 
upon  the  vehicle  in  which  the  story  is  conveyed.  If, 
as  we  have  said,  our  quaint  dialect  is  passing  away, 
and  our  national  eccentric  •  points  of  character,  we 
must  expect  to  find  much  of  the  peculiar  humour 
allied  with  them  to  have  passed  away  also.  In  other 
departments  of  wit  and  repartee,  and  acute  hits  at 
men  and  things,  Scotchmen  (whatever  S.  Smith  may 
have  said  to  the  contrary)  are  equal  to  their  neigh- 
bours, and,  so  far  as  I  know,  may  have  gained  rather 
than  lost.  But  this  peculiar  humour  of  which  I  now 
speak  has  not,  in  our  day,  the  scope  and  develop- 
ment which  were  permitted  to  it  by  the  former  gen- 
eration. Where  the  tendency  exists,  the  exercise 
of  it  is  kept  down  by  the  usages  and  feelings  of 
society.  For  examples  of  it  (in  its  full  force  at  any 
rate)  we  must  go  back  to  a  race  who  are  departed. 
One  remark,  however,  has  occurred  to  me  in  regard 
to  the  specimens  we  have  of  this  kind  of  humour, 
viz.,  that  they  do  not  always  proceed  from  the  wit 
or  the  cleverness  of  any  of  the  individuals  concerned 
in  them.  The  amusement  comes  from  the  circum- 
stances, from  the  concurrence  or  combination  of  the 
ideas,  and  in  many  cases  from  the  mere  expressions 


152  Reminiscences  of 

which  describe  the  facts.  The  humour  of  the  nar- 
rative is  unquestionable,  and  yet  no  one  has  tried  to 
be  humorous.  In  short,  it  is  the  Scottishness  that 
gives  the  zest.  The  same  ideas  differently  expound- 
ed might  have  no  point  at  all.  There  is,  for  exam- 
ple, something  highly  original  in  the  notions  of 
celestial  mechanics  entertained  by  an  honest  Scottish 
Fife  lass  regarding  the  theory  of  comets.  Having 
occasion  to  go  out  after  dark,  and  having  observed 
the  brilliant  comet  then  visible,  (1858,)  she  ran  in 
with  breathless  haste  to  the  house,  calling  on  her 
fellow-servants  to  "  Come  oot  and  see  a  new  star 
that  hasna  got  its  tail  cuttit  aff  yet ! "  Exquisite 
astronomical  speculation !  Stars,  like  puppies,  are 
born  with  tails,  and  in  due  time  have  them  docked. 
Take  an  example  of  a  story  where  there  is  no  dis- 
play of  any  one's  wit  or  humour,  and  yet  it  is  a  good 
story,  and  one  can't  exactly  say  why  :  —  An  Eng- 
lish traveller  had  gone  on  a  fine  highland  road  so 
long,  without  having  seen  an  indication  of  fellow- 
travellers,  that  he  became  astonished  at  the  solitude 
of  the  country  ;  and  no  doubt  before  the  Highlands 
were  so  much  frequented  as  they  are  in  our  time, 
the  roads  had  a  very  striking  aspect  of  solitariness. 
Our  traveller  at  last  coming  up  to  an  old  man  break- 
ing stones,  he  asked  him  if  there  was  any  traffic  on 
this  road  —  was  it  at  all  frequented  ?  "  Ay,"  he 
said,  "  it's  no  ill  at  that ;  there  was  a  cadger  body 
yestreen,  and  there's  yoursell  the  day."  No  English 
version  of  the  story  could  have  half  such  amuse- 


Scottish   Life   8f   Character.  153 

ment,  or  half  so  quaint  a  character.  An  answer, 
even  still  more  characteristic,  is  recorded  to  have 
been  given  by  a  countryman  to  a  traveller.  Being 
doubtful  of  his  way,  he  inquired  if  he  were  on  the 
right  road  to  Dunkeld.  With  some  of  his  national 
inquisitiveness  about  strangers,  the  countryman  asked 
his  inquirer  where  he  came  from.  Offended  at  the 
liberty,  as  he  considered  it,  he  sharply  reminded  the 
man  that  where  he  came  from  was  nothing  to  him  ; 
but  all  the  answer  he  got,  was  the  quiet  rejoinder, 
"  Indeed,  it's  just  as  little  to  me  whar  ye'r  gaen'." 
A  friend  has  told  me  of  an  answer  highly  character- 
istic of  this  dry  and  unconcerned  quality  which  he 
heard  given  to  a  fellow-traveller.  A  gentleman 
sitting  opposite  to  him  in  the  stage-coach  at  Ber- 
wick, complained  bitterly  that  the  cushion  on  which 
he  sat  was  quite  wet.  On  looking  up  to  the  roof 
he  saw  a  hole  through  which  the  rain  descended 
copiously,  and  at  once  accounted  for  the  mischief. 
He  called  for  the  coachman,  and  in  great  wrath  re- 
proached him  with  the  evil  under  which  he  suffered, 
and  pointed  to  the  hole  which  was  the  cause  of  it. 
All  the  satisfaction,  however,  that  he  got,  was  the 
quiet -unmoved  reply,  "Ay,  mony  a  ane  has  com- 
plained o'  that  hole."  Another  anecdote  I  heard 
from  a  gentleman  who  vouched  for  the  truth,  which 
is  just  a  case  where  the  narrative  has  its  humour, 
not  from  the  wit  which  is  displayed,  but  from  that 
dry  matter-of-fact  view  of  things  peculiar  to  some 
of  our  countrymen.  The  friend  of  my  informant 


154  Reminiscences   of 

was  walking  in  a  street  of  Perth,  when,  to  his  hor- 
ror, he  saw  a  workman  fall  from  a  roof  where  he 
was  mending  slates,  right  upon  the  pavement.  By 
extraordinary  good  fortune  he  was  not  killed,  and, 
on  the  gentleman  going  up  to  his  assistance,  and 
exclaiming  with  much  excitement,  tc  God  bless  me, 
are  you  much  hurt  ?  "  all  the  answer  he  got  was  the 
cool  rejoinder,  <c  On  the  contrary,  sir."  A  similar 
matter-of-fact  answer  was  made  by  one  of  the  old 
race  of  Montrose  humorists.  He  was  coming  out 
of  church,  and  in  the  press  of  the  kirk  skalling^  a 
young  man  thoughtlessly  trod  on  the  old  gentleman's 
toe,  which  was  tender  with  corns.  He  hastened  to 
apologise,  saying,  "  I  am  very  sorry,  sir ;  I  beg  your 
pardon."  The  only  acknowledgment  of  which  was 
the  dry  answer,  "  And  ye've  as  muckle  need,  sir." 

From  a  first-rate  Highland  authority  I  have  been 
supplied  with  the  following  clever  and  crushing  reply 
to  what  was  intended  as  a  sarcastic  compliment  and 
a  smart  saying. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  the 
then  Campbell,  of  Combie,  on  Loch  Awe  side,  in 
Argyleshire,  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  character, 
and  of  great  physical  strength,  and  such  swiftness 
of  foot  that  it  is  said  he  could  "  catch  the  best  tup 
on  the  hill."  He  also  looked  upon  himself  as  a 
"  pretty  man,"  though  in  this  he  was  singular ;  also, 
it  was  more  than  whispered  that  the  laird  was  not 
remarkable  for  his  principles  of  honesty. 

There   also    lived    in    the    same    district   a  Miss 


Scottish   Life    8f    Character. 

MacNabb  of  Bar-a'-Chaistril,  a  lady  who,  before 
she  had  passed  the  zenith  of  life,  had  never  been 
remarkable  for  her  beauty  —  the  contrary  even  had 
passed  into  a  proverb,  while  she  was  in  her  teens  ; 
but,  to  counterbalance  this  defect  in  external  quali- 
ties, nature  had  endowed  her  with  great  benevolence, 
while  she  was  renowned  for  her  probity.  One  day 
the  Laird  of  Combie,  who  piqued  himself  on  his 
bon-motSy  was,  as  frequently  happened,  a  guest  of 
Miss  MacNabb's,  and  after  dinner,  several  toasts 
had  gone  round  as  usual,  Combie  addressed  his 
hostess,  and  requested  an  especial  bumper,  insisting 
on  all  the  guests  to  fill  to  the  brim.  He  then  rose, 
and  said,  addressing  himself  to  Miss  MacNabb,  "  I 
propose  the  old  Scottish  toast  of  c  Honest  men  and 
bonnie  lassies,'  "  and,  bowing  to  the  hostess,  he  re- 
sumed his  seat.  The  lady  returned  his  bow  with 
her  usual  amiable  smile,  and,  taking  up  her  glass, 
replied,  cc  Weel,  Combie,  I  am  sure  we  may  drink 
that,  for  it  will  neither  apply  to  you  nor  me." 

An  amusing  example  of  a  quiet  cool  view  of  a  pecu- 
niary transaction  happened  to  my  father  whilst  doing 
the  business  of  the  rent  day.  He  was  receiving  sums 
of  money  from  the  tenants  in  succession.  After  look- 
ing over  a  bundle  of  notes  which  he  had  just  received 
from  one  of  them,  a  well-known  character,  he  said 
in  banter,  "  James,  the  notes  are  not  correct."  To 
which  the  farmer,  who  was  much  of  a  humorist, 
dryly  answered,  "  I  dinna  ken  what  they  may  be  noo ; 
but  they  were  a*  richt  afore  ye  had  your  fingers  in 


156  Reminiscences    of 

amang  'em."  An  English  farmer  would  hardly  have 
spoken  thus  to  his  landlord.  The  Duke  of  Buc- 
cleuch  told  me  an  answer  very  quaintly  Scotch,  given 
to  his  grandmother  by  a  farmer  of  the  old  school.  A 
dinner  was  given  to  some  tenantry  of  the  vast  es- 
tates of  the  family,  in  the  time  of  Duke  Henry. 
His  Duchess  (the  last  descendant  of  the  Dukes  of 
Montague)  always  appeared  at  table  on  such  occa- 
sion, and  did  the  honours  with  that  mixture  of  dig- 
njty  and  of  affable  kindness  for  which  she  was  so  re- 
markable. Abundant  hospitality  was  shewn  to  all  the 
guests.  The  Duchess  having  observed  one  of  the 
tenants  supplied  with  boiled  beef  from  a  noble  round, 
proposed  that  he  should  add  a  supply  of  cabbage  ; 
on  his  declining,  the  Duchess  good  humouredly  re- 
marked, "  Why,  boiled  beef  and  greens  seem  so 
naturally  to  go  together,  I  wonder  you  don't  take  it." 
To  which  the  honest  farmer  objected,  "  Ay,  but 
your  Grace  maun  alloo  its  a  vara  windy  vegetable," 
in  delicate  allusion  to  the  flatulent  quality  of  the 
esculent.  Similar  to  this  was  the  native  answer 
of  a  farmer  on  the  occasion  of  a  rent  day.  The 
lady  of  the  house  asked  him  if  he  would  take 
some  rhubarb  tart,  "  Mony  thanks,  mem,  I  dinna 
need  it." 

Amongst  the  lower  orders,  humour  is  found,  occa- 
sionally, very  rich  in  mere  children,  and  I  recollect 
a  remarkable  illustration  of  this  early  native  humour 
occurring  in  a  family  in  Forfarshire,  where  I  used, 
in  former  days,  to  be  very  intimate.  A  wretched 


Scottish   Life  fy   Character.  157 

woman,  who  used  to  traverse  the  country  as  a  beg- 
gar or  tramp,  left  a  poor,  half  starved  little  girl  by 
the  road  side,  near  the  house  of  my  friends.  Always 
ready  to  assist  the  unfortunate,  they  took  charge  of 
the  child,  and  as  she  grew  a  little  older,  they  began 
to  give  her  some  education,  and  taught  her  to  read. 
She  soon  made  some  progress  in  reading  the  Bible, 
and  the  native  odd  humour,  of  which  we  speak,  be- 
gan soon  to  shew  itself.  On  reading  the  passage, 
which  began,  "  Then  David  rose,"  etc.,  the  child 
stopped,  and  looked  up  knowingly,  to  say,  "  I  ken 
wha  that  was,"  and,  on  being  asked  what  she  could 
mean,  she  confidently  said,  "  That's  David  Rowse 
the  pleuchman."  And  again  reading  the  passage 
where  the  words  occur,  "  He  took  Paul's  girdle," 
the  child  said  with  much  confidence,  "  I  ken  what 
he  took  that  for,"  and  on  being  asked  to  explain, 
replied  at  once,  u  To  bake's  bannocks  on,"  "  gir- 
dle "  being,  in  the  north,  the  name  for  the  iron 
plate  hung  over  the  fire,  for  making  oat  cakes  or 
bannocks. 

A  kind  correspondent  has  sent  me,  from  personal 
knowledge,  an  admirable  pendant  to  these  stories  of 
Scottish  child  acuteness  and  shrewd  observation. 
A  young  lady  friend  of  his,  resident  in  a  part  of 
Ayrshire,  rather  remote  from  any  very  satisfactory 
administration  of  the  Gospel,  is  in  the  habit  of  col- 
lecting the  children  x>f  the  neighbourhood  on  Sun- 
days at  the  "  big  house,"  for  religious  instruction. 
On  one  occasion,  the  class  had  repeated  the  para- 


158  Reminiscences   of 

phrase  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  which  contains  these 
lines  — 

"  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread, 
And  raiment^/  provide." 

There  being  no  question  as  to  what  "  daily  bread  " 
was,  the  teacher  proceeded  to  ask  j  "  What  do  you 
understand  by  c  raiment  fit,'  or,  as  we  might  say,  c  fit 
raiment?"  For  a  short  time  the  class  remained 
puzzled  at  the  question  ;  but  at  last  one  little  girl 
sung  out,  "  stockings  and  shune."  The  child  knew 
that  "  fit,"  was  Scotch  for  feet,  so  her  natural  ex- 
planation of  the  phrase  was  equivalent  to  "  feet  rai- 
ment," pr  "  stockings  and  shune,"  as  she  termed  it. 
To  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land I  am  indebted  for  an  excellent  story  of  quaint 
child  humour,  which  he  had  from  the  lips  of  an  old 
woman  who  related  the  story  of  herself —  When  a 
girl  of  ^ght  years  of  age,  she  was  taken  by  her 
grandmother  to  church.  The  parish  minister  was 
not  only  a  long  preacher,  but,  as  the  custom  was, 
delivered  two  sermons  on  the  Sabbath  day  without 
any  interval,  and  thus  saved  the  parishioners  the 
two  journeys  to  church.  Elizabeth  was  sufficiently 
wearied  before  the  close  of  the  first  discourse,  but 
when,  after  singing  and  prayer,  the  good  minister 
opened  the  Bible,  read  a  second  text,  and  prepared 
to  give  a  second  sermon,  the  young  girl,  being  both 
tired  and  hungry,  lost  all  patience,  and  cried  out  to 
her  grandmother,  to  the  no  small  amusement  of  those 
who  were  so  near  as  to  hear  her,  "  Come  awa,  gran- 


Scottish   Life   Sf   Character.          159 

ny,  and  gang  hame  j  this  is  a  lang  grace  and  nae 
meat." 

A  most  amusing  account  of  child  humour  used 
to  be  narrated  by  an  old  Mr.  Campbell  of  Jura, 
who  told,  the  story  of  his  own  son.  It  seems  the 
boy  was  much  spoilt  by  indulgence.  In  fact,  the 
parents  were  scarce  able  to  refuse  him  any  thing  he 
demanded.  He  was  in  the  drawing-room  on  one 
occasion  when  dinner  was  announced,  and  on  being 
ordered  up  to  the  nursery  he  insisted  on  going  down 
to  dinner  with  the  company.  His  mother  was  for 
refusal,  but  the  child  persevered,  and  kept  saying, 
"  If  I  dinna  gang,  I'll  tell  thon."  His  father  then, 
for  peace  sake,  let  him  go.  So  he  werit  and  sat  at 
table  by  his  mother.  When  he  found  every  one 
getting  soup  and  himself  omitted,  he  demanded  soup, 
and  repeated,  "  If  I  dinna  get  it,  I'll  tell  thon." 
Well,  soup  was  given,  and  various  other  things 
yielded  to  his  importunities,  to  which  he  always 
added  the  usual  threat  of  "  telling  thon."  At  last, 
when  it  came  to  wine,  his  mother  stood  firm,  and 
positively  refused,  as  "  a  bad  thing  for  little  boys," 
and  so  on.  He  then  became  more  vociferous  than 
ever  about  "  telling  thon  ;*"  and  as  still  he  was  re- 
fused, he  declared,  "  now  I  will  tell  thon,"  and  at 
last  roared  out,  "  Ma  new  breeks  were  made  oot  o*  the 
auld  curtains  I  " 

A  facetious  and  acute  friend  who  rather  leans  to 
the  S.  Smith  view  of  Scottish  wit,  declares  that  all 
our  humorous  stories  are  about  lairds,  and  about 


160  Reminiscences  of 

lairds  who  are  drunk.  Of  such  stories  there  are 
certainly  not  a  few.  One  of  the  best  belonging  to 
my  part  of  the  country,  and  to  many  persons  I 
should  perhaps  apologise  for  introducing  it  at  all. 
The  story  has  been  told  of  various  parties  and  lo- 
calities, but  no  doubt  the  genuine  laird  was  a  laird 
of  Balnamoon,  (pronounced  in  the  country  Bonny- 
moon,)  and  that  the  locality  was  a  wild  tract  of 
land,  not  far  from  his  place,  called  Munrimmon 
Moor.  Balnamoon  had  been  dining  out  in  the 
neighbourhood,  where  by  mistake,  they  had  put 
down  to  him  after  dinner  cherry  brandy,  instead  of 
port  wine,  his  usual  beverage.  The  rich  flavour 
and  strength'  so  pleased  him,  that  having  tasted  it, 
he  would  have  nothing  else.  On  rising  from  table, 
therefore,  the  laird  would  be  more  affected  by  his 
drink  than  if  he  had  taken  his  ordinary  allowance 
of  port.  His  servant  Harry,  or  Hairy,1  was  to 
drive  him  home  in  a  gig  or  whisky,  as  it  was  called, 
the  usual  open  carriage  of  the  time.  On  crossing 
the  moor,  however,  whether  from  greater  exposure 
to  the  blast,  or  from  the  laird's  unsteadiness  of  head, 
his  hat  and  wig  came  off  and  fell  upon  the  ground. 
Harry  got  out  to  pick  them  up  and  restore  them  to 
his  master.  The  laird  was  satisfied  with  the  hat, 
but  demurred  at  the  wig.  "  It's  no  my  wig,  Hairy, 

1  In  corroboration  of  the  genuineness  a,nd  authenticity  of 
the  story,  I  am  assured  by  a  correspondent  that  he  knows  the 
name  of  the  servant  was  not  Hairy ;  but  I  have  mislaid  the 
reference. 


Scottish   Life   fy    Character.          161 

lad  ;  it's  no  my  wig,"  and  refused  to  have  anything 
to  do  with  it.  Hairy  lost  his  patience,  and  anxious 
to  get  home,  remonstrated  with  his  master,  "  Ye'd 
better  tak  it,  sir,  for  there's  nae  waile  o'  wigs  on 
Munrimmon  Moor."  The  humour  of  the  argu- 
ment is  exquisite,  putting  to  the  laird  in  his  unrea- 
sonable objection,  the  sly  insinuation  that  in  such  a 
locality,  if  he  did  not  take  this  wig,  he  was  not 
likely  to  find  another.  Then,  what  a  rich  expres- 
sion, "waile  o'  wigs."  In  English  what  is  it? 
"  A  choice  of  perukes,"  which  is  nothing  compara- 
ble to  the  "waile  o'  wigs."  I  ought  to  mention 
also  an  amusing  sequel  to  the  story,  viz.,  in  what 
happened  after  the  affair  of  the  wig  had  been  settled, 
and  the  laird  had  consented  to  return  home.  When 
the  whisky  drove  up  to  the  door,  Hairy,  sitting  in 
front,  told  the  servant  who  came  to  "  tak  out  the 
laird."  No  laird  was  to  be  seen  ;  and  it  appeared 
that  he  had  fallen  out  on  the  moor  without  Hairy 
observing  it.  Of  course  they  went  back,  and,  pick- 
ing him  up,  brought  him  safe  home.  A  neighbour- 
ing laird  having  called  a  few  days  after,  and  having 
referred  to  the  accident,  Balnamoon  quietly  added, 
"  Indeed,  I  maun  hae  a  lume1  that'll  had  in" 

The  laird  of  Balnamoon  was  a  truly  eccentric 
character.  He  joined  with  his  drinking  propensities 
a  great  zeal  for  the  Episcopal  Church,  the  service  of 
which  he  read  to  his  own  family  with  much  solem- 
nity and  earnestness  of  manner.  Two  gentlemen, 
1  A  vessel. 


162  Reminiscences   of 

one  of  them  a  stranger  to  the  country,  having  called 
pretty  early  one  Sunday  morning,  Balnamoon  invited 
them  to  dinner,  and  as  they  accepted  the  invitation, 
they  remained  and  joined  in  the  forenoon  devotional 
exercises  conducted  by  Balnamoon  himself.  The 
stranger  was  much  impressed  with  the  laird's  per- 
formance of  the  service,  and  during  a  walk  which 
they  took  before  dinner  mentioned  to  his  friend  how 
highly  he  esteemed  the  religious  deportment  of  their 
host.  The  gentleman  said  nothing,  but  smiled  to 
himself  at  the  scene  which  he  anticipated  was  to 
follow.  After  dinner  Balnamoon  set  himself,  ac- 
cording to  the  custom  of  old  hospitable  Scottish 
hosts,  to  make  his  guests  as  drunk  as  possible.  The 
result  was,  that  the  party  spent  the  evening  in  £ 
riotous  -debauch,  and  were  carried  to  bed  by  the 
servants  at  a  late  hour.  Next  day,  when  they  had 
taken  leave  and  left  the  house,  the  gentleman  who 
had  introduced  his  friend  asked  him  what  he  thought 
of  their  entertainer  —  "Why,  really,"  he  replied, 
with  evident  astonishment,  "  sic  a  speat  o'  praying, 
and  sic  a  speat  o'  drinking,  I  never  knew  in  the 
whole  course  of  my  life." 

The  late  Lady  Dalhousie,  mother,  I  mean,  of  the 
present  distinguished  Peer,  used  to  tell  a  characteris- 
tic anecdote  of  her  day.  But  here,  on  mention  of  the 
name  Christian,  Countess  of  Dalhousie,  may  I  pause 
a  moment  to  recall  the  memory  of  one  who  was  a 
very  remarkable  person.  She  was,  for  many  years, 
to  me  and  mine,  a  sincere  and  true  arid  valuable 


Scottish   Life    8f   Character.  163 

friend.  By  an  awful  dispensation  of  God's  providence, 
she  died  instantaneously  under  my  roof  in  1839. 
Lady  Dalhousie  was  eminently  distinguished  for  a 
fund  of  the  most  varied  knowledge,  for  a  clear  and 
powerful  judgment,  for  acute  observation,  a  kind 
heart,  a  brilliant  wit.  The  story  was  thus  : — A 
Scottish  judge,  somewhat  in  the  predicament  of  the 
Laird  of  Balnamoon,  had  dined  at  Coalstoun  with 
her  father  Charles  Brown,  an  advocate,  and  son  of 
George  Brown,  who  sat  in  the  Supreme  Court  as  a 
judge  with  the  title  of  Lord  Coalstoun.  The  party 
had  been  convivial,  as  we  know  parties  of  the  high- 
est legal  characters- often  were  in  those  days.  When 
breaking  up,  and  going  to  the  drawing-room,  one  of 
them,  not  seeing  his  way  very  clearly,  stepped  out  of 
the  dining-room  window,  which  was  open  to  the  sum- 
mer air.  The  ground  at  Coalstoun  sloping  off  from 
the  house  behind,  the  worthy  judge  got  a  great  fall, 
and  rolled  down  the  bank.  He  contrived,  however, 
as  tipsy  men  generally  do,  to  regain  his  legs,  and  was 
able  to  reach  the  drawing-room.  The  first  remark 
he  made  was  an  innocent  remonstrance  with  his 
friend  the  host,  "  Od,  Charlie  Brown,  what  gars 
ye  hae  sic  lang  steps  to  your  front  door." 

On  Deeside,  where  many  original  stories  had  their 
origin,  I  recollect  hearing  several  of  an  excellent  and 
worthy,  but  very  simple-minded  man,  the  Laird  of 
Craigmyle.  On  one  occasion,  when  the  beautiful 
and  clever  Jane,  Duchess  of  Gordon,  was  scouring 
through  the  country,  intent  upon  some  of  those  elec- 


164  Reminiscences  of 

tioneering  schemes  which  often  occupied  her  fertile 
imagination  and  active  energies,  she  came  to  call  at 
Craigmyle,  and  having  heard  that  the  laird  was 
making  bricks  on  the  property,  for  the  purpose 
of  building  a  garden  wall,  with  her  usual  tact 
she  opened  the  subject,  and  kindly  asked,  "Well 
Mr.  Gordon,  and  how  do  your  bricks  come  on  ?  " 
Good  Craigmyle's  thoughts  were  much  occupied 
with  a  new  leather  part  of  his  dress,  which  he  had 
had  lately  constructed,  so,  looking  down  on  his 
nether  garments,  he  said  in  pure  Aberdeen  dialect, 
cc  Muckle  obleeged  to  yer  Grace,  the  breeks  war 
sum  ticht  at  first,  but  they  are  deeing  weel  eneuch 
noo."  The  last  laird  of  Macnab,  before  the  clan 
finally  broke  up  and  emigrated  to  Canada,  was  a 
well-known  character  in  the  country,  and  being  poor, 
used  to  ride  about  on  a  most  wretched  horse,  which 
gave  occasion  to  many  jibes  at  his  expense.  The 
laird  was  in  the  constant  habit  of  riding  up  from  the 
country  to  attend  the  Musselburgh  races.  A  young 
wit,  by  way  of  playing  him  off  on  the  race  course, 
asked  him  in  a  contemptuous  tone,  "  Is  that  the  same 
horse  you  had  last  year,  Laird?  "  "  Na,"  said  the 
laird,  brandishing  his  whip  in  the  interrogator's  face 
in  so  emphatic  a  manner  as  to  preclude  further  ques- 
tioning, "  Na ;  but  it's  the  same  whup."  In  those 
days,  as  might  be  expected,  people  were  not  nice  in 
expressions  of  their  dislike  to  persons  or  measures. 
If  there  be  not  more  charity  in  society,  there  is 
certainly  more  courtesy.  I  have,  from  a  friend,  an 


Scottish   Life    fy   Character.  165 

anecdote  illustrative  of  this  remark,  in  regard  to 
feelings  exercised  towards  an  unpopular  laird.  In 
the  neighbourhood  of  Bamff,  in  Forfarshire,  the  seat 
of  a  very  ancient  family  of  the  Ramsays,  lived  a 
proprietor  who  bore  the  appellation  of  Corb,  from 
the  name  of  his  estate.  The  family  has  passed  away 
and  its  property  merged  in  Bamff.  This  laird  was 
intensely  disliked  in  the  neighbourhood.  Sir  George 
Ramsay  was,  on  the  other  hand,  universally  popular 
and  respected.  On  one  occasion,  Sir  George,  in 
passing  a  morass  in  his  own  neighbourhood,  had 
missed  the  road  and  fallen  into  a  bog  to  an  alarm- 
ing depth.  To  his  great  relief,  he  saw  a  passenger 
coming  along  the  path,  which  was  at  no  great  dis- 
tance. He  called  loudly  for  his  help,  but  the  man 
took  no  notice.  Poor  Sir  George  felt  himself  sink- 
ing, and  redoubled  his  cries  for  assistance  j  all  at 
once  the  passenger  rushed  forward,  carefully  extri- 
cated him  from  his  perilous  position,  and  politely 
apologised  for  his  first  neglect  of  his  appeal,  adding, 
as  his  reason,  "  Indeed,  Sir  George,  I  thought  it  was 
Corb  !  "  evidently  meaning  that  had  it  been  Corb,  he 
must  have  taken  his  chance  for  him. 

In  Lanarkshire,  there  lived  a  sma  sma  laird  named 
Hamilton,  who  was  noted  for  his  eccentricity.  On 
one  occasion,  a  neighbour  waited  on  him,  and  re- 
quested his  name  as  an  accommodation  to  a  bit  bill 
for  twenty  pounds  at  three  "months'  date,  which  led 
to  the  following  characteristic  and  truly  Scottish  col- 
loquy :  —  "  Na,  na,  I  canna  do  that."  "  What  for 


1 66  Reminiscences  of 

no,  laird,  ye  hae  dune  the  same  thing  for  ithers." 
"  Aye,  aye,  Tammas,  but  there's  wheels  within 
wheels  ye  ken  naething  about  j  I  canna  do't."  "  It's 
a  sma  affair  to  refuse  me,  laird."  "  Weel,  ye  see, 
Tammas,  if  I  was  to  pit  my  name  till't,  ye  wad  get 
the  siller  frae  the*  bank,  and  when  the  time  came 
round,  ye  wadna  be  ready,  and  I  wad  hae  to  pay't ; 
sae  then  you  and  me  wad  quarrel,  sae  we  mae  just 
as  weel  quarrel  the  noo,  as  lang's  the  siller's  in  ma 
pouch."  On  one  occasion,  Hamilton  having  busi- 
ness with  the  late  Duke  of  Hamilton  at  Hamilton 
Palace,  the  Duke  politely  asked  him  to  lunch.  A 
liveried  servant  waited  upon  them,  and  was  most 
assiduous  in  his  attentions  to  the  Duke  and  his 
guest.  At  last  our  eccentric  friend  lost  patience, 
and  looking  at  the  servant,  addressed  him  thus, 
u  What  the  deil  for  are  ye  dance,  dancing,  about  the 
room  that  gait ;  can  ye  no  draw  in  your  chair  and 
sit  down,  I'm  sure  there's  plenty  on  the  table  for 
three." 

Of  another  laird  whom  I  heard  often  spoken  of 
in  old  times,  an  anecdote  was  told  strongly  Scotch. 
Our  friend  had  much  difficulty  (as  many  worthy 
lairds  have  had)  in  meeting  the  claims  of  those  two 
woful  periods  of  the  year  called  with  us  in  Scotland 
the  "  tarmes."  He  had  been  employing  for  some 
time  as  workman  a  stranger  from  the  south  on  some 
house  repairs,  of  the  not  uncommon  name  in  Eng- 
land of  Christmas.  His  servant  early  one  morning 
called  out  at  the  laird's  door  in  great  excitement  that 


Scottish   Life    8f   Character.  167 

"  Christmas  had  run  away,  and  nobody  knew  where 
he  had  gone."  He  turned  in  his  bed  with  the  earnest 
ejaculation,  "  I  only  wish  he  had  taken  Whitsunday 
and  Martinmas  along  with  him."  I  do  not  know  a 
better  illustration  of  quiet,  shrewd,  and  acute  Scot- 
tish humour  than  the  following  little  story,  which  an 
esteemed  correspondent  mentions  having  heard  from 
his  father  when  a  boy,  relating  to  a  former  Duke  of 
Athole,  who  had  no  family  of  his  own^  and  whom  he 
mentions  as  having  remembered  very  well  :  —  He 
met,  one  morning,  one  of  his  cottars  or  gardeners, 
whose  wife  he -knew  to  be  in  the  hopeful  way ,  and, 
asking  him  <c  How  Marget  was  the  day,"  the  man 
replied,  that  she  had  that  morning  given  him  twins. 
Upon  which  the  Duke  said,  —  "  Weel,  Donald,  ye 
ken  the  Almighty  never  sends  bairns  without  the 
meat."  "  That  may  be,  your  Grace,"  said  Donald  ; 
"  but  whiles  I  think  that  Providence  maks  a  mistak 
in  thae  matters,  and  sends  the  bairns  to  ae  hoose  and 
the  meat  to  anither  !  "  The  Duke  took  the  hint, 
and  sent  him  a  cow  with  calf  the  following  morning. 
I  have  heard  of  an  amusing  scene  between  a  laird 
celebrated  for  his  saving  propensities,  and  a  wander- 
ing sort  of  Edie  Ochiltree,  a  well-known  itinerant, 
who  lived  by  his  wits  and  what  he  could  pick  up  in 
his  rounds  amongst  the  houses  of  lairds  and  farmers. 
One  thrifty  laird  having  seen  him  sit  down  near  his 
own  gate  to  examine  the  contents  of  his  poke  or 
wallet,  conjectured  that  he  had  come  from  the  house, 
and  so  he  drew  near  to  see  what  he  had  carried  off. 


i68  Reminiscences   of 

As  he  was  keenly  investigating  the  mendicant's 
spoils,  his  quick  eye  detected  some  bones  on  which 
there  remained  more  meat  than  should  have  been 
allowed  to  leave  his  kitchen.  Accordingly  he 
pounced  upon  the  bones,  and  declared  he  had  been 
robbed,  and  insisted  on  his  returning  to  the  house 
and  giving  back  the  spoil.  The  beggar  was,  how- 
ever, prepared  for  the  attack,  and  sturdily  defending 
his  property,  boldly  asserting,  "  Na,  na,  laird,  thae 
are  no  Todbrae  banes  ;  thae  are  Inch-Byre  banes, 
and  nane  o'  your  honour's,"  —  meaning  that  he  had 
received  these  bones  at  the  house  of  a  neighbour  of 
a  more  liberal  character.  But  the  beggar's  profes- 
sional discrimination  between  the  bones  of  the  two 
mansions,  and  his  pertinacious  defence  of  his  own 
property,  would  have  been  most  amusing  to  a  by- 
stander. 

I  have,  however,  a  reverse  story,  in  which  the  beg- 
gar is  quietly  silenced  by  the  proprietor.  A  noble 
lord,  some  generations  back,  well  known  for  his  fru- 
gal habits,  had  just  picked  up  a  small  copper  coin  in 
his  own  avenue,  and  had  been  observed  by  one  of  the 
itinerating  mendicant  race,  who  grudged  the  trans- 
fer of  the  piece  into  the  peer's  pocket,  exclaimed,  "  O, 
gie't  to  me,  my  lord  ;  "  to  which  the  quiet  answer 
was,  "  Na,  na  \  fin'  a  fardin  for  yersell,  puir  body." 

There  are  always  pointed  anecdotes  against  houses 
wanting  in  #  liberal  and  hospitable  expenditure  in 
Scotland.  Thus,  we  have  heard  of  a  master  leaving 
such  a  mansion,  and  taxing  his  servant  with  being 


Scottish   Life    fy   Character.  169 

drunk,  which  he  had  too  often  been  after  country 
visits.  On  this  occasion,  however,  he  was  innocent 
of  the  charge,  for  he  had  not  had  the  opportunity  to 
transgress.  So,  when  his  master  asserted,  "  Jemmy, 
you  are  drunk !  "  Jemmy  very  quietly  answered,  "  In- 
deed, sir,  I  wish  I  wur."  At  another  mansion,  no- 
torious for  scanty  fare,  a  gentleman  was  inquiring  of 
the  gardener  about  a  dog  which  some  time  ago  he 
had  given  to  the  laird.  The  gardener  shewed  him  a 
lank  greyhound,  on  which  the  gentleman  said,  — 
"  No,  no  ;  the  dog  I  gave  your  master  was  a  mastiff, 
not  a  greyhound ;  "  to  which  the  gardener  quietly 
answered,  "  Indeed,  ony  dog  micht  sune  become  a 
greyhound  by  stopping  here."" 

From  a  friend  and  near  relative,  a  minister  of  the 
Established  Church  of  Scotland,  I  used  to  hear  many 
characteristic  stories.  He  had  a  curious  vein  of  this 
sort  of  humour  in  himself,  besides  what  he  brought 
out  of  others.  One  of  his  peculiarities  was  a  mortal 
antipathy  to  the  whole  French  nation,  whom  he  fre- 
quently abused  in  no  measured  terms.  At  the  same 
time  he  had  great  relish  of  a  glass  of  claret,  which 
he  considered  the  prince  of  all  social  beverages.  So 
he  usually  finished  off  his  anti-gallican  tirades  with 
the  reservation,  "  But  the  bodies  brew  the  braw 
drink."  He  lived  amongst  his  own  people,  and 
knew  well  the  habits  and  peculiarities  of  a  race  gone 
by.  He  had  many  stories  connected  with  the  pas- 
toral relation  between  minister  and  people,  and  all 
such  stories  are  curious,  not  merely  for  their  amuse- 


1  jo  Reminiscences   of 

merit,  but  from  the  illustration  they  afford  us  of  that 
peculiar  Scottish  humour  which  we  are  now  describ- 
ing. He  had  himself,  when  a  very  young  boy, 
before  he  came  up  to  the  Edinburgh  High  School, 
been  at  the  parochial  school  where  he  resided,  and 
which,  like  many  others  at  that  period,  had  a  con- 
siderable reputation  for  the  skill  and  scholarship  of 
the  master.  He  used  to  describe  school  scenes 
rather  different,  I  suspect,  from  school  scenes  in  our 
day.  One  boy,  on  coming  late,  exclaimed  that  the 
cause  had  been  a  regular  pitched  battle  between  his 
parents,  with  the  details  of  which  he  amused  his 
school-fellows,  and  he  described  the  battle  in  vivid 
and  Scottish  Homeric  terms,  "  And  eh,  as  they 
faucht  and  they  faucht,"  adding,  however,  with 
much  complacency,  "  but  my  minnie  dang,  she  did 
tho'." 

There  was  a  style  of  conversation  and  quaint 
modes  of  communication  between  ministers  and 
their  people  at  that  time,  which,  I  suppose,  would 
seem  strange  to  the  present  generation;  as,  for  ex- 
ample, I  recollect  a  conversation  between  this  rela- 
tive and  one  of  his  parishioners  of  this  description. 
It  had  been  a  very  wet  and  unpromising  autumn. 
The  minister  met  a  certain  Janet  of  his  flock,  and 
accosted  her  very  kindly.  He  remarked,  "  Bad 
prospect  for  the  har'st  (harvest),  Janet,  this  wet." 
Janet  —  "Indeed,  sir,  Pve  seen  as  muckle  as  that 
there'll  be  nae  har'st  the  year."  Minister  —  "  Na, 
Janet,  tfeil  as  muckle  as  that't  ever  ye  saw." 


Scottish   Life    Sf   Character.          171 

As  I  have  said,  he  was  a  clergyman  of  the 
Established  Church,  and  had  many  stories  about 
ministers  and  people,  arising  out  of  his  own  pastoral 
experience,  or  the  experience  of  friends  and  neigh- 
bours. He  was  much  delighted  with  the  not  very 
refined  rebuke  which  one  of  his  own  farmers  had 
given  to  a  young  minister  who  had  for  some  Sundays 
occupied  his  pulpit.  The  young  man  dined  with 
the  farmer  in  the  afternoon  when  services  were 
over,  and  his  appetite  was  so  sharp,  that  he  thought 
it  necessary  to  apologise  to  his  host  for  eating  so 
substantial  a  dinner  —  "  You  see,"  he  said,  "  I  am 
always  very  hungry  after  preaching."  The  old  gen- 
tleman, not  much  admiring  the  youth's  pulpit  minis- 
trations, having  heard  this  apology  two  or  three 
times,  at  last  replied  sarcastically,  "  Indeed,  sir,  I'm 
no  surprised  at  it,  considering  the  trash  that  comes 
aff  your  stamach  in  the  morning."  There  was  a 
story  for  which  he  had  names  of  place  and  persons, 
but  I  forget  whether  it  was  of  his  own  experience. 
I  think  it  was  his  own ;  at  any  rate  it  was  thus  :  — 
A  lad  had  come  for  examination,  previous  to  his 
receiving  his  first  communion.  The  pastor,  know- 
ing that  his  young  friend  was  not  very  profound  in 
his  theology,  and  not  wishing  to  discourage  him,  or 
keep  him  from  the  table  unless  compelled  to  do  so, 
began  by  asking  what  he  thought  a  safe  question, 
and  what  would  give  him  confidence.  So  he  took 
the  old  Testament,  and  asked  him,  in  reference  to 
the  Mosaic  law,  how  many  commandments  there 


172  Reminiscences  of 

were.  After  a  little  thought  he  put  his  answer  in 
the  modest  form  of  a  supposition,  and  replied, 
cautiously,  "Aiblins1  a  hunner."  The  clergyman 
was  vexed,  and  told  him  such  ignorance  was  in- 
tolerable, that  he  could  not  proceed  in  examination, 
and  that  the  youth  must  wait  and  learn  more ;  so 
he  went  away.  On  returning  home  he  met  a  friend 
on  his  way  to  the  manse,  and,  on  learning  that  he, 
too,  was  going  to  the  minister  for  examination, 
shrewdly  asked  him,  "  Weel,  what  will  ye  say  noo 
if  the  minister  speers  hoo  mony  commandments  there 
are  ?  "  "  Say  !  why,  I  shall  say  ten  to  be  sure." 
To  which  the  other  rejoined,  with  great  triumph, 
"  Ten  !  Try  ye  him  wi'  ten  !  I  tried  him  wi'  a 
hunner,  and  he  wasna  satisfeed." 

I  have  received  from  Miss  Stirling  Graham  of 
Duntrune  a  kind  contribution  to  the'present  volume. 
I  have  deemed  it  best  to  put  her  communications 
together,  and  I  introduce  them  here.  They  contain 
an  account  of  an  extraordinary  Scottish  superstition, 
and  of  an  equally  extraordinary  mode  of  acting  under 
its  influence.  They  describe  two  remarkable  Scot- 
tish characters,  and  contain  some  Forfarshire  tradi- 
tional sayings.  Those  who  have  read  a  volume 
lately  printed  for  circulation  amongst  her  friends, 
containing  an  account  of  some  of  those  "  Mystifi- 
cations "  with  which  she  charmed  the  Edinburgh 
society  of  her  early  days,  will  know  how  exquisite 
is  Miss  Stirling  Graham's  appreciation  of  Scottish 

l  Perhaps. 


Scottish  Life  8f  Character.  173 

humour,  and  how  complete  her  knowledge  of 
Scottish  character. 

There  lived  here  in  Gayfield  Square  two  charming 
old  maiden  ladies — Mrs.  Mary  Smith  and  Miss  Peg- 
gy Fyffe.  They  had  a  pet  superstition,  for  which 
they  paid,  between  them,  threepence  a  week  to  a 
street  porter,  that  he  might  be  the  first  to  tell  them 
it  was  Monday,  deeming  it  unlucky  to  hear  the  day 
first  mentioned  by  a  woman.  They  laid  each  three- 
halfpence  on  the  hall  table  on  Sunday  night,  and 
early  next  morning  the  man  called  to  wish  them  a 
happy  Monday,  and  pick  up  his  reward.  Once  when 
Miss  Fyffe  was  confined  to  bed,  her  attendant  in- 
quired what  she  would  like  for  dinner,  for  it  was 
Monday^  and  there  would  be  no  fish  to  be  got. 
"  Wae  worth  you,"  Miss  Fyffe  exclaimed,  "  do  ye 
no  ken  that  I  pay  a  man  to  tell  me  it's  Monday  ?  " 
When  Miss  Fyffe  died,  Mrs.  Smith  refused  to  pay 
any  more  than  her  weekly  dole  of  three-halfpence. 
Miss  Douglass  of  Brigton  being  present,  the  maid 
whispered,  "Never  mind,  I'll  just  pay  it  out  of  the 
house-money  !  "  When  Miss  Douglass  returned 
home,  she  related  this  strange  superstition  to  a  party 
of  friends,  who  enjoyed  it  as  a  joke ;  but  her  sister, 
Mrs.  Hunter,  looked  rather  serious,  saying,  "  Well, 
I  am  not  the  least  superstitious,  but  I  do  not  like  to 
be  told  by  a  woman  it  is  Monday  !  " 

Mrs.  Graham  of  Balmure  had  a  faithful  old  ser- 
vant called  Saunders  Hay,  who  had  a  ready  word  on 
every  subject.  Hearing  Miss  Graham  appeal  to  her 


1 74  Reminiscences   of 

sister,  if  she  did  not  think  her  gown  rather  too  long, 
might  it  not  be  as  well  to  have  it  shortened  ?  "  Na, 
na,"  quoth  Saunders  ;  "  it's  very  well ;  clip  nor  pare 
ony  mare  at  it."  One  Sunday  evening  Saunders  and 
his  wife  had  a  serious  quarrel.  Jean  said  she  thought 
David  (King  David)  hadna  taen  much  pains  when 
he  metred  the  Psalms  ;  on  which  Saunders  flew  in  a 
passion  at  her  ignorance,  and  reminded  her  that  it 
was  George  Buchanan  who  metred  the  Psalms. 

Mr.  Taylor,  well  known  in  London  as  having  the 
management  of  the  opera-house,  had  his  father  up 
from  Aberdeen  to  visit  him,  and  see  the  wonders  of 
the  city.  When  the  old  man  returned  home,  his 
friends,  anxious  to  know  the  impressions  produced 
on  his  mind  by  scenes  and  characters  so  different 
from  what  he  had  been  accustomed  to  at  home, 
inquired  what  sort  of  business  his  son  carried  on  ? 
"  Ou,"  said  he  (in  reference  to  the  operatic  singers 
and  the  corps  de  ballet),  "  He  just  keeps  a  curn  1  o' 
quainies2  and  a  wheen  widdyfous,3  and  gars  them 
fissle,4  and  loup,  and  mak  murgeons 5  to  please  the 
great  fowk." 

An  Aberdonian  of  the  name  of  Bannerman  (pos- 
sibly a  cousin  of  mine  own),  of  a  matter-of-fact  dis- 
position, when  some  one  remarked,"  It's  a  fine  day," 
dryly  responded,  "  Fa's  findin'  faut  wi'  the  day  ?  — 
ye  wad  pick  a  quarrel  wi'  a  steen  wa'."  • 

Another    Aberdonian,    describing  the  dress    of  a 

1  A  number.  2  Young  girls.  3  Gallows  birds. 

*  Make  whistling  noises.  5  Distorted  gestures 


Scottish   Life   4"   Character.  175 

lady  whom  he  had  seen  at  a  ball  the  night  before, 
said,  <c  She  had  a  tappie-towrie  on  her  head,  and  a 
diamond  necklace  on  her  neck  ;  and  she  had  stockings 
and  shoon,  for  I  saw  tbem^  but  for  onything  mair  I 
dinna  ken." 

Mrs.  Matthew,  who  farmed  Westhall  some  twenty 
years  ago,  was  an  original  homely  person.  Her 
maiden  name  was  Anderson,  the  descendant  of  a 
race  of  sensible  well-to-do-people.  On  inquiring  if 
she  was  connected  with  the  provost  of  Dundee,  she 
replied,  with  a  look  of  great  contempt,  "  Na,  na, 
his  father  cam  out  o*  Forgan.  He  was  wont  to 
caj  my  father  the  man  Anderson^  but,  my  certie,  he 
wasna  fit  to  be  linings  to  the  man  Anderson.  Our 
land  is  very  dear,  and  so  greedy  for  muck,  deil  burst 
it ;  and  my  grieve  is  a  souple,  double,  seceder  rascal." 
As  a  set  off  to  this  account,  a  farmer,  close  to  Edin- 
burgh, observed  to  Mr.  R.  Chambers,  "  The  land 
oot  here  is  noo  quite  tired  o*  police  dung." 

A  farmer  in  Strathmore  being  invited  to  dine  at 
Belmont,  had  the  precaution  to  ask  the  butler  if  there 
was  any  particular  ceremony  to  be  observed  at  table, 
and  was  told  there  was  only  one  thing  his  lord  and 
lady  disliked,  and  that  was  the  drinking  of  healths. 
The  good  man  determined  to  be  on  his  good  be- 
haviour;  so,  when  raising  the  wine  to  his  lips,  he 
called  out,  "  Here's  to  a'  the  company's  gude  health, 
except  my  Lord  Privy  Seal  and  Lady  Betty  Macken- 
zie." 

Mr.  Miller  of  Ballumbie  had  occasion  to  find  fault 


176  Reminiscences  of 

with  one  of  his  labourers  who  had  been  improvident, 
and  known  better  days.  He  was  digging  a  drain, 
and  he  told  him  if  he  did  not  make  better  work  he 
should  turn  him  off.  The  man  was  very  angry,  and 
throwing  down  his  spade,  called  out  in  a  tone  of  re- 
sentment, "  Ye  are  ower  pridefu',  Davie  Miller  ; 
since  I  mind  ye  i*  the  warld  when  ye  had  neither 
cow  nor  ewe."  "  Very  well,"  replied  Mr.  Miller 
mildly,  "  I  remember  you  when  you  had  both." 

A  neighbour  called  one  day  upon  Lord  Dunsin- 
nan  when  he  was  spending  his  law-holidays  on  his 
estate  in  Strathmore.  The  dinner  consisted  of  broth 
and  two  boiled  fowls.  Just  as  they  were  sitting 
down  to  table  another  neighbour  walked  in,  and 
another  boiled  fowl  was  placed  before  him  ;  and 
after  some  excellent  claret,  and  pleasant  discourse, 
the  visitors  mounted  their  horses  to  ride  home, 
pondering  by  the  way,  over  the  singularity  of  the 
dinner,  and  wondering  what  the  servants  got ;  they 
had  the  curiosity  to  ask  them,  to  which  they  replied, 
u  Ilka  ane  had  a  hen  boiled  in  broth." 

The  late  Lord  Airlie  remarking  to  one  of  his 
tenants  that  it  was  a  very  wet  season,  "  Indeed,  my 
lord,"  replied  the  man,  "  I  think  the  spiggot's  oot 
a'thegither." 

A  countryman,  from  the  Braes  of  Angus,  came 
to  tell  the  minister  that  his  wife  was  brought  to  bed, 
and  they 'wished  him  to  christen  the  bairn.  The 
minister,  very  pompous,  inquired  whether  the  child 
was  male  or  female  ?  "  It's  neither,  sir,"  was  the 


Scottish   Life   8f   Character.          177 

answer.  "  Then,  in  the  name  of  goodness,"  said 
the  reverend  man,  "  what  is  it  ?  "  "  Ou,  it's  juist 
a  bit  queanie  !  "  \ 

An  old  beggar  woman  was  a  frequent  visitor  at 
Duntrune.  She  was  called  Bobbins,  a  nickname 
which  she  did  not  particularly  like,  as  it  had  ref- 
erence to  some  intromissions  with  her  neighbours' 
yarn.  She  was  seized  with  a  cold,  and  confined  to 
bed.  The  neighbours  sent  donations  of  various 
delicacies,  one  of  them  a  jar  of  black-currant  jam, 
which  she  emptied  into  a  wooden  dish,  and  ate  it 
all  up  with  a  large  horn  spoon,  making  wry  faces  all 
the  time,  and  took  credit  to  herself  for  the  same, 
by  remarking,  "  That  mony  ane  wadna  sup  it,  for 
the  leddy  maks  her  jeil  wi'  the  caff  (chaff)  amang't." 
Then  she  drank  six  bottles  of  beer  and  half  a  bot- 
tle of  whisky,  and  fell  asleep  for  eight-and-forty 
hours,  at  the  end  of  which  time  she  awoke  quite 
recovered  ! 

An  old  cadger,  the  personification  of  content- 
ment, used  to  sit  sound  asleep  on  his  cart,  trusting 
himself  and  his  fish  to  the  discretion  of  the  horse. 
One  day  he  arrived  at  Duntrune  nearly  frozen  to 
death,  and  was  carried  into  the  kitchen  to  be  thawed. 
In  due  time  he  got  something  to  eat,  and  a  glass  of 
warm  toddy  to  drink,  which  so  cheered  his  heart, 
that  he  exclaimed,  "  Oh  !  sirs,  I  am  happy  wi'  ye. 
I  am  just  ae  eild  wi'  the  auld  king  (George  III.), 
and  I  daur  say  I'm  as  happy  a  man  as  he  is.  The 
leddy  will  be  takin'  a  glass  to  hersell  when  she  comes 
8* 


178  Reminiscences  of 

in  frae  her  walk,  for  I  am  sure  naebody  could  hae  it 
in  the  hoose  and  no  tak  it." 

The  two  following  cases  furnish  specimens  of  the 
old  Scottish  domestics  :  —  There  was  a  waggish  old 
man  cook  at  Duntrune  for  sixty  years,  and  during 
three  generations  of  its  owners.  In  1745-6,  when 
his  master  was  skulking,  John  found  it  necessary  to 
take  another  service,  and  hired  himself  to  Mr.  Wed- 
derburn  of  Pearsie ;  but  he  wearied  to  get  back  to 
Duntrune.  One  day  the  Laird  of  Pearsie  observed 
him  putting  a  spit  through  a  peat  —  it  may  have 
been  for  the  purpose  of  cleaning  it  —  be  that  as  it 
may,  the  laird  inquired  the  reason  for  so  doing,  and 
John  replied,  "  Indeed,  sir,  I  am  just  gaein  to  roast 
a  peat,  for  fear  I  forget  my  trade."  At  the  end  of 
two  years  he  returned  to  Duntrune,  where  he  con- 
tinued to  exercise  his  calling  till  near  the  close  of 
life. 

One  day  he  sent  up  a  roast  goose  for  dinner 
which  he  or  some  one  had  despoiled  of  a  leg  before 
it  came  to  table  ;  on  which  his  master  summoned 
him  from  the  kitchen  to  inquire  who  had  taken  the 
leg  off  the  goose.  John  replied  that  all  the  geese 
here  had  but  ae  leg.  In  corroboration  of  hfe  asser- 
tion, he  pointed  to  a  whole  flock  before  the  window, 
who  were,  happily,  sitting  asleep  on  one  leg,  with 
a  sentinel  on  the  watch.  The  laird  clapped  his 
hands  and  cried  whew^  on  which  they  got  upon 
both  legs,  and  flew  off.  But  John,  no  way  dis- 
comfited, told  his  master,  if  he  had  cried  whew  to 


Scottish   Life    8f    Character.          179 

the  one  on  the  table,  it  would  most  likely  have  done 
the  same.  It  is  not  to  be  believed  that  John  had 
ever  read  Boccaccio,  or  that  he  ever  heard  of  the 
Venetian  cook,  Chichibio,  who  played  the  same 
trick  with  the  crane's  leg  ;  but  it  is  possible  that 
two  artists  in  the  same  vocation,  even  with  four 
centuries  rolling  between  them,  may  have  originated 
similar  ideas  —  therefore  we  may  safely  give  John 
Fraser  credit  for  his  invention.  He  died  in  Dundee, 
where  his  master  paid  the  last  tribute  of  respect  to 
his  memory,  and  laid  his  head  in  the  grave  beside 
the  family  he  had  served  so  faithfully. 

When  the  funeral  moved  from  his  house,  the 
widow,  in  the  exuberance  of  gratification,  called 
aloud  to  her  neighbours  to  come  and  see  the  "  beau- 
tiful burial." 

There  lived  in  Arbroath  a  very  remarkable  old 
woman  named  Meg  Matthew,  a  generous,  noble, 
and  disinterested  character,  and  her  conduct  to  the 
friendless  and  the  orphans  should  be  recorded.  She 
had  been  a  servant  to  Mr.  Cruickshank,  the  minister 
of  Kinnel.  The  minister  and  his  wife  both  died 
during  her  service,  and  left  three  children  totally 
unprovided.  Upon  which  Meg  engaged  an  attic 
room  in  the  Market-gate  of  Arbroath,  and  carried 
the  two  boys  and  the  little  girl  with  her,  where  she 
span  to  maintain  them,  and  she  begged  from  those 
whom  she  thought  could  afford  it,  their  schooling 
and  clothing.  She  did  not  ask  like  a  mendicant, 
but  said  she  must  have  such  and  such  things  for  her 


180  Reminiscences    of 

bairns  ;  and  when  the  boys  were  to  be  fitted  out, 
she  would  call  at  various  places,  and  tell  the  lady 
of  the  house  that  she  must  have  linen,  and  that  the 
young  ladies  must  set  to  work,  and  make  so  many 
shirts  for  Jamie  or  Willy. 

Situations  were  procured  for  the  boys  ;  one  went 
to  the  West  Indies,  the  other  to  Montreal,  where 
he  married  and  had  a  family,  whom  he  left  in  good 
circumstances. 

In  the  course  of  years,  the  other  returned  with  a 
competency,  and  died  in  Arbroath. 

Meg  herself  accompanied  the  boys  to  London  to 
witness  their  departure,  and  she  saw  the  king  (George 
III.),  whom  she  described  as  being  u  juist  like  ony 
ither  husbandman  wi'  a  stand  o'  blue  claes." 

Betsy  Cruickshank  obtained  a  lady's-maid's  place 
in  Hopetoun  House,  where  she  remained  till  her 
marriage  *with  Mr.  Haldane,  a  stocking  manufac- 
turer in  Haddington.  He  left  her  a  widow  in  com- 
fort, and  she  was  much  respected,  and  died  in  a  good 
old  age.  Meg  was  the  theme  of  many  conversa- 
tions between  the  young  ladies  of  Hopetoun  and 
their  attendant.  Her  name  and  fame  were  even 
well  known  among  the  servants. 

One  day  a  housemaid  ran  into  the  room  calling 
out,  "  Miss  Cruickshank,  if  your  Meg  be  in  the 
body,  she  is  now  coming  up  the  road." 

It  was  Meg  herself,  arrived  on  foot  from  Ar- 
broath ;  and  rapturously  she  was  welcomed  by  the 
whole  family.  She  would  remain  only  a  short  time, 


Scottish    Life    §>    Character.          181 

declining  all  favours  for  herself;  and  when  they 
offered  to  shew  her  through  the  house,  she  replied, 
"  Na,  na,  Pm  no  gaen  to  big  the  marrow  of  it."1 

She  returned  home  to  her  spinning-wheel  in  her 
solitary  little  room,  and  from  her  homely  wrinkled 
face  and  rather  unsocial  manner,  she  was  looked 
upon  by  coarse-minded  people  in  the  light  of  a  witch, 
or  one  that  was  in  compact  with  the  devil.  Her 
dress  was  a  short  gown  over  a  woollen  petticoat,  a 
striped  wincey  apron,  and  a  close  white  mutch  with  a 
black  hood  over  it.  She  span  a  coarse  yarn  from 
the  waist  with  both  hands.  I  remember  her  in  her 
last  illness,  her  death,  and  seeing  her  laid  in  her 
coffin;  and  now,  looking  through  the  long  vista  of 
the  present  century,  and  far  down  into  the  past,  I 
venerate  the  singularly  beautiful  character  of  that 
dear  old  woman,  and  noble  Scottish  heart. 

Her  dust  lies  within  the  cemetery  of  the  old  ab- 
bey of  Arbroath,  — 

"  Embalmed  in  memory  with  things  that  are  holy, 
By  the  spirit  that  is  undying." 

About  this  time  Arbroath  embraced  a  very  primi- 
tive society. 

The  players  visited  it  once  a  year  for  a  few 
weeks,  and  acted  in  the  hay-loft  of  the  inn. 

A  very  good  set  they  were ;  stars  sometimes  from 
the  metropolis,  with  grand  names,  such  as  Wil- 
loughby  and  Mandeville. 

1  To  build  the  equal  of  it. 


182  Reminiscences    of 

Old  ladies  would  take  their  knitting,  and  one 
more  eccentric  than  the  others,  would  carry  her 
muslin  caps  wet  with  starch,  to  prepare  them  for 
being  ironed,  or  as  she  said,  "  to  make  them  ready 
to  be  goosed-,"  and  she  clapped  them  between  the 
palms  of  her  hands  when  cheering  the  performers. 

An  Episcopal  clergyman  married  the  widow  of  a 
blind  gentleman,  who  fitted  herself  out  with  such  a 
trousseau  as  made  people  wonder,  for  she  said,  "  I 
was  married  to  a  moudiewart  last,  but  now  I  am  get- 
ting a  husband  who  can  see  me." 

Some  people  not  very  scrupulous,  put  bad  coppers 
into  the  plate  at  the  chapel  door  on  Sundays,  with 
which  the  good  lady  paid  her  losses  at  cards  during 
the  week,  and  so,  in  the  end,  it  came  to  be  known 
through  whose  veins  the  III  bawbees  circulated. 

At  one  of  her  parties  she  remarked  that  she  had 
never  been  able  to  procure  any  good  gin  since  the 
Dutch  took  Flushing.  "  Wifie,  wifie,"  interposed 
the  minister,  "  Flushing  is  in  Holland."  "  Weel," 
she  replied,  "  I'm  sure  I  dinna  care  whether  it  be  in 
France  or  Ireland !  !  !  " 


r  We  find  in  the  conversation  of  old  people  frequent 
mention  of  parochial  functionaries,  now  either  be- 
come commonplace,  like  the  rest  of  the  world,  or 
removed  altogether,  and  shut  up  in  poor-houses  or 
mad-houses — I  mean  parish  idiots  —  eccentric,  or 
somewhat  crazy,  useless,  idle  creatures,  who  used  to 


Scottish   Life   fy    Character.          183 

wander  from  house  to  house,  and  sometimes  made 
very  shrewd,  sarcastic  remarks  upon  what  was  going 
on  in  the  parish.  They  used  to  take  great  liberty  of 
speech  regarding  the  conduct  and  disposition  of  those 
with  whom  they  came  in  contact  ;  and  many  odd 
sayings  which  emanated  from  the  parish  idiots,  were 
traditionary  in  country  localities.  I  have  a  kindly 
feeling  towards  these  imperfectly  intelligent,  but  of- 
ten perfectly  cunning  beings  ;  partly  I  believe  from 
recollections  of  early  associations  in  boyish  days, 
with  some  of  those  Davy  Gellatleys.  I  have  there- 
fore preserved  several  anecdotes  with  which  I  have 
been  favoured,  where  their  odd  sayings  and  indica- 
tions of  a  degree  of  mental  activity  have  been  re- 
corded. Parish  idiots  seem  to  have  had  a  partiality 
for  getting  near  the  pulpit  in  church,  and  their  pres- 
ence there  was  accordingly  sometimes  annoying  to 
the  preacher  and  the  congregation  ;  as  at  Maybole, 
when  Dr.  Paul,  now  of  St.  Cuthbert's,  was  minister 
in  1823,  the  idiot  John  McLymont  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  standing  so  close  to  the  pulpit  door  as  to 
overlook  the  Bible  and  pulpit  board.  When  required, 
however,  by  the  clergyman,  to  keep  at  a  greater  dis- 
tance, and  not  look  in  upon  the  minister^  he  got  in- 
tensely angry  and  violent.  He  threatened  the  min- 
ister, "  Sir,  b£eby  (maybe)  I'll  come  further ; " 
meaning  to  intimate  that  perhaps  he  would,  if  much 
provoked,  come  into  the  pulpit  altogether.  This,  in- 
deed, actually  took  place  on  another  occasion,  and 
the  tenure  of  the  ministerial  position  was  justified  by 


184  Reminiscences    of 

an  argument  of  a  most  amusing  nature.  The  cir- 
cumstance, I  am  assured,  happened  in  a  parish  of  the 
north.  The  clergyman,  on  coming  into  church, 
found  the  pulpit  occupied  by  the  parish  idiot.  The 
authorities  had  been  unable  to  remove  him  without 
more  violence  than  was  seemly,  and  therefore  waited 
for  the  minister  to  dispossess  Tarn  of  the  place 
he  had  assumed.  cc  Come  down,  sir,  immediately," 
was  the  peremptory  and  indignant  call  ;  and  on  Tarn 
being  unmoved,  it  was  repeated  with  still  greater 
energy.  Tarn,  however,  replied,  looking  down  con- 
fidentially from  his  elevation,  "  Na,  na,  minister  ! 
juist  ye  come  up  wi'  me.  This  is  a  perverse  gener- 
ation, and  faith  they  need  us  baith."  It  is  curious 
to  mark  the  sort  of  glimmering  of  sense,  and  even 
of  discriminating  thought  displayed  by  persons  of 
this  class  j  as  an  example,  take  a  conversation  held 
by  this  same  idiot,  John  McLymont,  with  Dr.  Paul, 
whom  he  met  some  time  after.  He  seemed  to  have 
recovered  his  good  humour,  as  he  stopped  him,  and 
said,  "  Sir,  I  would  like  to  speer  a  question  at  ye 
on  a  subject  that's  troubling  me."  "  Well,  Johnie, 
what  is  the  question  ?  "  To  which  he  replied,  "  Sir, 
is  it  lawful  at  ony  time  to  tell  a  lee  ?  "  The  minis- 
ter desired  to  know  what  Johnie  himself  thought 
upon  the  point.  "  Weel,  sir,"  said. he,  "  I'll  no  say 
but  in  every  case  it's  wrang  to  tell  a  lee  ;  but,"  added 
he,  looking  archly  and  giving  a  knowing  wink,  "  I 
think  there  are  waur  lees  than  ithers."  "  How, 
Johnie  ?  "  and  then  he  instantly  replied  with  all  the 


Scottish   Life    8f   Character.  185 

simplicity  of  a  fool,  "  to  keep  down  a  din  for  Instance. 
I'll  no  say  but  a  man  does  wrang  in  telling  a  lee  to 
keep  down  a  din,  but  Pm  sure  he  does  not  do  half 
sae  muckle  wrang  as  a  man  who  tells  a  lee  to  kick 
up  a  deevilment  o'  a  din."  This  opened  a  question 
not  likely  to  occur  to  such  a  mind.  Mr.  Asher,  min- 
ister of  Inveraven  in  Morayshire,  narrated  to  Dr. 
Paul  a  curious  example  of  want  of  intelligence  com- 
bined with  a  power  of  cunning  to  redress  a  fancied 
wrong,  shewn  by  a  poor  natural  of  the  parish,  who 
had  been  seized  with  a  violent  inflammatory  attack, 
and  was  in  great  danger.  The  medical  attendant  saw 
it  necessary  to  bleed  him,  but  he  resisted,  and  would 
not  submit  to  it.  At  last  the  case  became  so  hope- 
less that  they  were  obliged  to  use  force,  and,  holding 
his  hands  and  feet,  the  doctor  opened  a  vein  and  drew 
blood,  upon  which  the  poor  creature,  struggling  vio- 
lently, bawled  out,  tc  O  doctor,  doctor  !  you'll  kill 
me  !  you'll  kill  me  !  and  depend  upon  it,  the  first 
thing  I'll  do  when  I  get  to  the  other  world  will  be  to 
report  you  to  the  Board  of  Supervision  there^  and  get 
you  dismissed."  A  most  extraordinary  sensation  was 
once  produced  on  a  congregation  by  Rab  Hamilton, 
a  well-remembered  idiot  of  the  west  country,  on  the 
occasion  of  his  attendance  at  the  parish  kirk  of 
"  Auld  Ayr,  wham  ne'er  a  toun  surpasses."  Miss 
Kirkwood,  Bothwell,  relates  the  story  from  the  recol- 
lection of  her  aunt,  who  was  present.  Rab  had  put 
his  head  between  some  iron  rails,  the  first  intimation 
of  which  to  the  congregation  was  a  stentorian  voice 


186  Reminiscences  of 

crying  out,  "  Murder  !  my  head  '11  hae  to  be  cutit  aff! 
Holy  minister  !  congregation  !  O  my  head  maun  be 
cutit  aff.  It's  a  judgment  for  leaving  my  godlie  Mr. 
Peebles  at  the  Newton."  After  he  had  been  extri- 
cated and  quieted,  when  asked,  why  he  put  his  head 
there  ?  he  said,  "  It  was  jeest  to  look  on 1  wi*  anitber 
woman.''9 

The  pathetic  complaint  of  one  of  this  class,  re- 
siding at  a  farm-house,  has  often  been  narrated,  and 
forms  a  good  illustration  of  idiot  life  and  feelings. 
He  was  living  in  the  greatest  comfort,  and  every 
want  provided.  But,  like  the  rest  of  mankind,  he 
had  his  own  trials,  and  his  own  cause  for  anxiety 
and  annoyance.  In  this  poor  fellow's  case  it  was 
the  great  turkey-cock  at  the  farm,  of  whom  he  stood 
so  terribly  in  awe,  that  he  was  afraid  to  come  within 
a  great  distance  of  his  enemy.  Some  of  his  friends 
coming  to  visit  him,  reminded  him  how  comfortable 
he  was,  and  how  grateful  he  ought  to  be  for  the 
great  care  taken  of  him ;  he  admitted  the  truth  of 
the  remark  generally,  but  still,  like  the  rest  of  the 
world,  he  had  to  lament  over  an  evil  which  sadly 
beset  his  path  in  life.  There  was  a  secret  grievance 
which  embittered  his  lot ;  and  to  his  friend  he  thus 
opened  his  heart :  — "  Ae,  ae,  but  oh,  I'm  sare 
hadden  doun  wi'  the  bubbly  jock."  2 

I  have  received  two  anecdotes  illustrative  both 
of  the  occasional  acuteness  of  mind,  and  of  the 

1  Read  from  the  same  book. 

2  Sorely  kept  under  by  the  turkey-cock. 


Scottish    Life    8f    Character.          187 

sensitiveness  of  feeling  occasionally  indicated  by 
persons  thus  situated.  A  well-known  idiot,  Jamie 
Fraser,  belonging  to  the  parish  of  Lunan,  in  Forfar- 
shire,  quite  surprised  people  sometimes  by  his  replies. 
The  congregation  of  his  parish  church  had  for  some 
time  distressed  the  minister  by  their  habit  of  sleep- 
ing in  church.  He  had  often  endeavoured  to  im- 
press them  with  a  sense  of  the  impropriety  of  such 
conduct,  and  one  day  when  Jamie  was  sitting  in  the 
front  gallery  wide  awake,  when  many  were  slum- 
bering round  him,  the  clergyman  endeavoured  to 
awaken  the  attention  of  his  hearers  by  stating  the 
fact,  saying,  "  You  see  even  Jamie  Fraser,  the  idiot, 
does  not  fall  asleep,  as  so  many  of  you  are  doing." 
Jamie  not  liking,  perhaps,  to  be  thus  designated, 
coolly  replied,  "  An'  I  hadna  been  an  idiot,  I  wad 
ha'  been  sleeping  too."  Another  of  these  imbeciles, 
belonging  to  Peebles,  had  been  sitting  at  church  for  j 
some  time  listening  attentively  to  a  strong  repre- 
sentation from  the  pulpit  of  the  guilt  of  deceit  and  ; 
falsehood  in  Christian  characters.  He  was  observed 
to  turn  red,  and  grow  very  uneasy,  until  at  last,  as  if 
wincing  under  the  supposed  attack  upon  himself 
personally,  he  roared  out,  "  Indeed,  minister,  there's 
mair  leears  in  Peebles  than  me."  As  examples  of 
idiots  possessing  much  of  the  dry*  humour  of  their 
more  sane  countrymen,  and  of  their  facility  to  utter 
sly  and  ready-witted  sayings,  I  have  received  the 
two  following  from  Mr.  W.  Chambers :  —  Daft 
Jock  Gray,  the  supposed  original  of  Davie  Gel- 


188  Reminiscences  of 

latley,  was  one  day  assailed  by  the  minister  of  a 
south-country  parish  on  the  subject  of  his  idleness. 
"  John,"  said  the  minister  rather  pompously,  "you 
are  a  very  idle  fellow  ;  you  might  surely  herd  a  few 
cows."  «  Me  hird  !  "  replied  Jock,  "  I  dinna  ken 
corn  frae  gerse." 

In  the  memorials  of  the  "  Montgomeries,  Earls  of 
Eglinton,"  vol.  i.  p.  134,  occurs  an  anecdote  of  an 
idiot  illustrative  of  the  peculiar  acuteness  and  quaint 
humour  which  occasionally  mark  the  sayings  of  the 
class.  There  was  a  certain  "  Daft  Will  Speir," 
who  was  a  privileged  haunter  of  Eglinton  Castle 
and  grounds.  He  was  discovered  by  the  Earl  one 
day  taking  a  near  cut,  and  crossing  a  fence  in  the 
demesne.  The  Earl  called  out,  "  Come  back,  sir, 
that's  not  the  road."  "Do  ye  ken,"  said  Will, 
"  whaur  I'm  gaun  ?  "  "  No,"  replied  his  lordship. 
"  Weel,  hoo  the  deil  do  ye  ken  whether  this  be  the 
road  or  no  ?  " 

In  Peebles  there  was  a  crazy  being  of  this  kind 
called  "  Daft  Yedie."  On  one  occasion  he  saw  a 
gentleman,  a  stranger  in  the  town,  who  had  a  club 
foot.  Yedie  contemplated  this  phenomenon  with 
some  interest,  and  addressing  the  gentleman,  said 
compassionately,  "It's  a  great  pity  —  it  spoils  the 
boot."  There  is  a  story  of  one  of  those  half-witted 
creatures  of  a  different  character  from  the  humor- 
ous ones  already  recorded  ;  I  think  it  is  exceedingly 
affecting,  and  with  it  I  will  conclude  my  collection. 
The  story  is  traditionary  in  a  country  district,  and  I 


Scottish   Life    Sf   Character.  189 

#m  not  aware  of  its  being  ever  printed.  A  poor 
boy,  of  this  class,  who  had  evidently  manifested  a 
tendency  towards  religious  and  devotional  feelings, 
asked  permission  from  the  clergyman  to  attend  the 
Lord's  Table  and  partake  of  the  holy  communion 
with  the  other  members  of  the  congregation  (wheth- 
er Episcopalian  or  Presbyterian  I  do  not  know). 
The  clergyman  demurred  for  some  time,  under  the 
impression  of  his  mind  being  incapable  of  a  right 
and  due  understanding  of  the  sacred  ordinance. 
But  observing  the  extreme  earnestness  of  the  poor 
boy,  at  last  gave  consent,  and  he  was  allowed  to 
come.  He  was  much  affected,  and  all  the  way 
home  was  heard  to  exclaim,  "  Oh  !  I  hae  seen  the 
pretty  man."  This  referred  to  his  seeing  the  Lord 
Jesus,  whom  he  had  approached  in  the  sacrament. 
He  kept  repeating  the  words,  and  went  with  them 
on  his  lips  to  rest  for  the  night.  Not  appearing 
at  the  usual  hour  for  breakfast,  when  they  went  to 
his  bedside  they  found  him  dead !  The  excitement 
had  been  too  much  —  mind  and  body  had  given 
way  —  and  the  half-idiot  of  earth  awoke  to  the 
glories  and  the  bliss  of  his  Redeemer's  presence. 

The  relative  whom  I  have  mentioned  had  many 
stories  of  a  parochial  fraternity  of  a  more  author- 
ized character  than  the  parish  idiots,  but  whose 
eccentricities  also  have,  in  a  great  measure,  given 
way  before  the  assimilating  spirit  of  the  times.  I 
mean  the  old  Scottish  beadle,  or  betheral,  as  he 
used  to  be  called.  Some  classes  of  men  are  found 


190  Reminiscences  of 

to  have  that  nameless  but  distinguishing  character- 
istic of  figure  and  aspect  which  marks  out  particular 
occupations  and  professions  of  mankind.  This  was 
so  much  the  case  in  the  betheral  chss,  that  an  old 
lady  observing  a  well-known  judge  and  advocate 
walking  together  in  the  street,  remarked  to  a  friend 
as  they  passed  by,  "  Dear  me,  Lucy,  wha  are  thae 
twa  beddle-looking  bodies  !"  They  were  often  great 
originals,  and,  I  suspect,  must  have  been  somewhat 
given  to  convivial  habits,  from  a  remark  I  recollect 
of  the  late  Baron  Clerk  Rattray,  viz.,  that  in  his 
younger  days  he  had  hardly  ever  known  a  perfectly 
sober  betheral.  However  this  may  have  been,  they 
were,  as  a  class,  remarkable  for  quaint  humour,  and 
for  being  shrewd  observers  of  what  was  going  on. 
I  have  heard  of  an  occasion  where  the  betheral 
made  his  wits  furnish  an  apology  for  his  want  of 
sobriety.  He  had  been  sent  round  the  parish  by 
the  minister  to  deliver  notices  at  all  the  houses  of 
the  catechising  which  was  to  precede  the  preparation 
for  receiving  the  communion.  On  his  return  it  was 
quite  evident  that  he  had  partaken  too  largely  of 
refreshment  since  he  had  been  on  his  expedition. 
The  minister  reproached  him  for  this  improper  con- 
duct. The  betheral  pleaded  the  pressing  hospitality 
of  the  parishioners.  The  clergyman  did  not  admit 
the  plea,  and  added,  ct  Now,  John,  I  go  through 
the  parish,  and  you  don't  see  me  return  fou  as  you 
have  done."  "  Ay,  minister,"  rejoined  the  betheral, 
with  much  complacency,  "  but  then  aiblins  ye're  no 


Scottish  Life  fy  Character.  191 

sae  popular  i'  the  parish  as  me."  My  relative  used 
to  tell  of  one  of  these  officials  receiving,  with  much 
ceremony,  a  brother  betheral  from  a  neighbouring 
parish,  who  had  come  with  the  minister  thereof  about 
to  preach  for  some  special  occasion.  After  service, 
the  betheral  of  the  stranger  clergyman  felt  proud  of 
the  performance  of  the  appointed  duty,  and  said,  in  a 
triumphant  tone,  to  his  friend,  u  I  think  our  minister 
did  weel  ;  ay,  he  gars  the  stour  flee  out  o'  the  cush- 
ion." To  which  the  other  rejoined,  with  a  calm 
feeling  of  superiority,  "  Stour  oot  o'  the  cushion  ! 
hour.,  our  minister,  sin*  he  cam  wr1  us,  has  dung  the 
guts  oot  o'  twa  bibles."  Another  description  I  have 
heard  of  an  energetic  preacher  more  forcible  than 
delicate — "  Eh,  our  minister  had  a  great  power  o' 
watter,  for  he  grat  and  spat,  and  swat  like  mischeef." 
An  obliging  anonymous  correspondent  has  sent  me  a 
story  of  a  functionary  of  this  class  whose  pride  was 
centred  not  so  much  in  the  performance  of  the  min- 
ister as  of  the  precentor.  He  states,  that  he  remem- 
bers an  old  beadle  of  the  church  which  was  called 
«  Haddo's  Hole,"  and  sometimes  the  «  Little  Kirk," 
in  Edinburgh,  whose  son  occasionally  officiated  as 
precentor.  He  was  not  very  well  qualified  for. the 
duty,  but  the  father  had  a  high  opinion  of  his  son's 
vocal  powers.  In  those  days  there  was  always  ser- 
vice in  the  church  on  the  Tuesday  evenings  ;  and 
when  the  father  was  asked  on  such  occasions, 
"  Who's  to  preach  to-night  ?  "  his  self-complacent 
reply  used  to  be,  "  I  divna  ken  wha's  till  preach,  but 


192  Reminiscences    of 

my  son's  for  till  precent."  This  class  of  function- 
aries were  very  free  in  their  remarks  upon  the  preach- 
ing of  strangers,  who  used  occasionally  to  occupy  the 
pulpit  of  their  church  —  the  city  betherals  speaking 
sometimes  in  a  most  condescending  manner  of  clergy 
from  the  provincial  parishes.  As,  for  example,  a 
betheral  of  one  of  the  large  churches  in  Glasgow, 
criticising  the  sermon  of  a  minister  from  the  coun- 
try who  had  been  preaching  in  the  city  church,  char- 
acterized it  as  "  Gude  coorse  country  wark."  A 
betheral  of  one  of  the  churches  of  St.  Giles',  Edin- 
burgh, used  to  call  on  the  family  of  Mr.  Robert 
Stevenson,  engineer,  who  was  one  of  the  elders.  On 
one  occasion  they  asked  him,  what  had  been  the  text 
on  such  a  night,  when  none  of  the  family  had  been 
present.  The  man  of  office,  confused  at  the  ques- 
tion, and  unwilling  to  shew  anything  like  ignorance, 
poured  forth,  "  Weel,  ye  see,  the  text  last  day,  was 
just  entirely,  sirs  —  yes  —  the  text,  sirs — what  was 
it  again  —  ou  ay,  just  entirely,  ye  see  it  was,  '  What 
profiteth  a  man  if  he  lose  the  world,  and  gain  his 
own  soul.' '  Most  of  such  stories  are  usually  of 
an  old  standing.  A  more  recent  one  has  been  told 
me  of  a  betheral  in  a  royal  burgh  much  decayed 
from  former  importance,  and  governed  by  a  feeble 
municipality  of  old  men  who  continued  in  office,  and 
in  fact  constituted  rather  the  shadow  than  the  sub- 
stance of  a  corporation.  A  clergyman  from  a  dis- 
tance having  come  to  officiate  in  the  parish  church, 
the  betheral  knowing  the  terms  on  which  it  was 


Scottish    Life    4*    Character.  193 

usual  for  the  minister  officiating  to  pray  for  the 
efficiency  of  the  local  magistracy,  quietly  cautioned 
the  clergyman  before  service  that,  in  regard  to  the 
town  council  there,  it  would  be  quite  out  of  place 
for  him  to  pray  that  they  should  be  a  "  terror  to  evil 
doers,"  because,  as  he  said,  the  "  poor  auld  bodies 
could  be  nae  terror  to  onybody."  The  beadle  of  a 
country  parish  is  usually  called  the  minister's  man, 
and  to  one  of  these,  who  had  gone  through  a  long 
course  of  such  parish  official  life,  a  gentleman  one 
day  remarked  —  "  John,  ye  hae  been  sae  lang  about 
the  minister's  hand  that  I  dare  say  ye  could  preach 
a  sermon  yersell  now."  To  which  John  modestly 
replied,  "  Oh  na,  sir,  I  couldna  preach  a  sermon, 
but  maybe  I  could  draw  an  inference."  "  Well, 
John,"  said  the  gentleman,  humouring  the  quiet 
vanity  of  the  beadle,  "  what  inference  could  ye 
draw  frae  this  text,  c  a  wild  ass  snuffeth  up  the 
wind  at  her  pleasure? '  "  (Jer.  ii.  24.)  "  Weel,  sir, 
I  wad  draw  this  inference,  he  wad  snuff  a  lang 
time  afore  he  would  fatten  upon't."  I  had  an  anec- 
dote from  a  friend  of  a  reply  from  a  betheral  to  the 
minister  in  church,  which  was  quaint  and  amusing 
from  the  shrewd  self-importance  it  indicated  in  his 
own  acuteness.  The  clergyman  had  been  annoyed 
during  the  course  of  his  sermon  by  the  restlessness 
and  occasional  whining  of  a  dog,  which  at  last  be- 
gan to  bark  outright."  He  looked  out  for  the  bea- 
dle, and  directed  him  very  peremptorily,  "  John, 
carry  that  dog  out."  John  looked  up  to  the  pulpit, 
9 


1 94  Reminiscences  of 

and  with  a  very  knowing  expression  said,  "  Na,  na, 
sir;  I'se  just  mak  him  gae  out  on  his  ain  four  legs." 
I  have  another  story  of  canine  misbehaviour  in 
church.  A  dog  was  present  during  the  service, 
and  in  the  sermon  the  worthy  minister  was  in  the 
habit  of  speaking  very  loud,  and,  in  fact,  when  he 
got  warmed  with  his  subject,  of  shouting  almost  to 
the  top  of  his  voice*  The  dog  who,  in  the  early 
part,  had  been  very  quiet,  became  quite  excited,  as 
is  not  uncommon  with  some  dogs  when  hearing  a 
noise,  and  from  whinging  and  whining,  as  the  speak- 
er's voice  rose  loud  and  strong,  at  last  began  to 
bark  and  howl.  The  minister,  naturally  much  an- 
noyed at  the  interruption,  called  upon  the  betheral 
to  put  out  the  dog,  who  at  once  expressed  his  read- 
iness to  obey  the  order,  but  could  not  resist  the 
temptation  to  look  up  to  the  pulpit,  and  to  say  very 
significantly,  "  Ay,  ay,  sir  ;  but  indeed  it  was  yer- 
sell  began  it."  There  is  a  dog  story  connected 
with  "  Reminiscences  of  Glasgow  "  (see  "Chambers' 
Journal,"  March  1855),  which  is  full  of  meaning. 
The  bowls  of  rum  punch  which  so  remarkably 
characterized  the  Glasgow  dinners  of  last  century 
and  the  early  part  of  the  present,  it  is  to  be  feared 
made  some  of  the  congregation  given  to  somnolency 
on  the  Sundays  following.  The  members  of  the 
town-council  often  adopted  Saturday  for  such  meet- 
ings ;  accordingly,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thorn,  an  excel- 
lent clergyman,  took  occasion  to  mark  this  propen- 
sity with*  some  acerbity.  A  dog  had  been  very 


Scottish   Life    8f  .Character.  195 

troublesome,  and  disturbed  the  congregation  for  some 
time,  when  the  minister  at  last  gave  orders  to  the 
beadle,  "  Take  out  that  dog  ;  he'd  wauken  a  Glas- 
gow magistrate." 

It  would  be  impossible  in  these  reminiscences  to 
omit  the  well-known  and  often-repeated  anecdote 
connected  with  an  eminent  divine  of  our  own  coun- 
try, whose  works  take  a  high  place  in  our  theological 
literature.  The  story  to  which  I  allude  was  rendered 
popular  throughout  the  kingdom,  some  years  ago,  by 
the  inimitable  mode  in  which  it  was  told  or  rather 
acted  by  the  late  Charles  Matthews.  But  Matthews 
was  wrong  in  the  person  of  whom  he  related  the 
humorous  address.  I  have  assurance  of  the  parties 
from  a  friend,  whose  father,  a  distinguished  clergy- 
man in  the  Scottish  church  at  the  time,  had  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  whole  circumstances.  The  late 
celebrated  Dr.  Macknight,  a  learned  and  profound 
scholar  and  commentator,  was  nevertheless,  as  a 
preacher,  to  a  great  degree,  heavy,  unrelieved  by  fan- 
cy or  imagination  ;  an  able  writer,  but  a  dull  speaker. 
His  colleague  Dr.  Henry,  well  known  as  the  author 
of  a  history  of  England,  was,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
man  of  great  humour,  and  could  not  resist  a  joke 
when  the  temptation  came  upon  him.  On  one  oc- 
casion when  coming  to  church,  Dr.  Macknight  had 
been  caught  in  a  shower  of  rain,  and  entered  the 
vestry  soaked  with  wet.  Every  means  were  used  to 
relieve  him  from  bis  discomfort ;  but  as  the  time 
drew  on  for  divine  service  he  became  much  dis- 


196  Reminiscences  of 

tressed,  and  ejaculated  over  and  over,  "  Oh,  I  wush 
that  I  was  dry  ;  do  you  think  I'm  dry;  do  you  think 
I'm  dry  eneuch  noo  ?  "  His  jocose  colleague  could 
resist  no  longer,  but,  patting  him  on  the  shoulder, 
comforted  him  with  the  sly  assurance,  "  Bide  a  wee, 
Doctor,  and  ye'se  be  dry  eneuch  when  ye  get  into 
the  pu'pit."  Another  quaint  remark  of  the  facetious 
Doctor  to  his  more  formal  colleague  has  been  pre- 
served by  friends  of  the  family.  Dr.  Henry,  who, 
with  all  his  pleasantry  and  abilities,  had  himself  as 
little  popularity  in  the  pulpit  as  his  coadjutor,  had 
been  remarking  to  Dr.  Macknight  what  a  blessing  it 
was  that  they  two  were  colleagues  in  one  charge,  and 
continued  dwelling  on  the  subject  so  long,  that  Dr. 
M.,  not  quite  pleased  at  the  frequent  reiteration  of 
the  remark,  said  that  it  certainly  was  a  great  pleasure 
to  himself,  but  he  did  not  see  what  great  benefit  it' 
might  be  to  the  world.  "  Ah,"  said  Dr.  Henry, 
"  an  it  hadna  been  for  that,  there  wad  hae  been  tw a 
toom l  kirks  this  day."  I  am  indebted  to  a  gentle- 
man, himself  also  a  distinguished  member  of  the 
Scottish  church,  for  an  authentic  anecdote  of  this 
learned  divine,  and  which  occurred  whilst  Dr.  Mac- 
knight  was  the  minister  of  Maybole.  One  of  his 
parishioners,  a  well-known  humorous  blacksmith  of 
the  parish,  who,  no  doubt,  thought  that  the  Doctor's 
learned  books  were  rather  a  waste  of  time  and  labour 
for  a  country  pastor,  was  asked  if  his  minister  was 
at  home.  The  Doctor  was  then  busy  bringing  out 

i  Empty. 


Scottish   Life    fy   Character.  197 

his  laborious  and  valuable  work,  his  "  Harmony  of 
the  Four  Gospels."  "  Na,  he's  gane  to  Edinburgh 
on  a  verra  useless  job."  On  being  asked  what  this 
useless  work  might  be  which  engaged  his  pastor's 
time  and  attention,  he  answered,  "  He's  gane  to  mak 
four  men  agree  wha  ne'er  cast  out."  The  good-hu- 
moured and  candid  answer  of  a  learned  and  rather 
long-winded  preacher  of  the  old  school,  always  ap- 
peared to  me  quite  charming.  The  good  man  was 
far  from  being  a  popular  preacher,  and  yet  he  could 
not  reduce  his  discourses  below  the  hour  and  a  half. 
On  being  asked,  as  a  gentle  hint,  of  their  possibly 
needless  length,  if  he  did  not  feel  tired  after  preach- 
ing so  long,  he  replied,  "  Na,  na,  I'm  no  tired ;  " 
adding,  however,  with  much  naivete,  "  But,  Lord, 
hoo  tired  the  fowk  whiles  are." 

The  late  good,  kind-hearted  Dr.  David  Dickson 
was  fond  of  telling  a  story  of  a  Scottish  termagant 
of  the  days  before  kirk-session  discipline  had  passed 
away.  A  couple  were  brought  before  the  court,  and 
Janet,  the  wife,  was  charged  with  violent  and  undu- 
tiful  conduct,  and  with  wounding  her  husband,  by 
throwing  a  three-legged  stool  at  his  head.  The 
minister  rebuked  her  conduct,  and  pointed  out  its 
grievous  character,  by  explaining  that  just  as  Christ 
was  head  of  his  church,  so  the  husband  was  head  of 
the  wife  ;  and  therefore,  in  assaulting  him^  she  had, 
in  fact,  injured  her  own  body.  "  Weel,"  she  replied, 
"  it's  come  to  a  fine  pass  gin  a  wife  canna  kame  her 
ain  head  ;  "  "  Aye,  but  Janet,"  rejoined  the  minister. 


198  Reminiscences   of 

"  a  three-legged  stool  is  a  thief-like  bane  kame  to 
scart  yer  ain  head  wi'  !  " 

Our  object  in  bringing  up  and  recording  anecdotes 
of  this  kind  is  to  elucidate  the  sort  of  humour  we 
refer  to,  and  to  shew  it  as  a  humour  of  past  times. 
A  modern  clergyman  could  hardly  adopt  the  tone  and 
manner  of  the  older  class  of  ministers  —  men  not 
less  useful  and  beloved,  on  account  of  their  odd 
Scottish  humour,  which  indeed  suited  their  time. 
Could  a  clergyman,  for  instance,  now  come  off  from 
the  trying  position  in  which  we  have  heard  of  a 
northern  minister  being  placed,  and  by  the  same  way 
through  which  he  extricated  himself  with  much  good 
nature  and  quiet  sarcasm  ?  A  young  man  sitting  op- 
posite to  him  in  the  front  of  the  gallery  had  been  up 
late  on  the  previous  night,  and  had  stuffed  the  cards 
with  which  he  had  been  occupied  into  his  coat  pock- 
et. Forgetting  the  circumstance,  he  pulled  out  his 
handkerchief,  and  the  cards  all  flew  about.  The 
minister  simply  looked  at  him,  and  remarked,  cc  Eh 
man,  your  psalm  buik  has  been  ill  bund." 

Many  anecdotes  of  pithy  and  facetious  replies  are 
recorded  of  a  minister  of  the  south,  usually  distin- 
guished as  "  Our  Watty  Dunlop."  On  one  occa- 
sion two  irreverent  young  fellows  determined,  as 
they  said,  to  "  taigle" 1  the  minister.  Coming  up 
to  him  in  the  High  Street  of  Dumfries,  they  ac- 
costed him  with  much  solemnity.  "  Maister  Dunlop, 
dae  ye  hear  the  news  ? "  "  What  news  ?  "  "  Oh, 
1  Confound. 


Scottish   Life    Sf   Character.  199 

the  deil's  dead."  "  Is  he,"  said  Mr.  Dunlop,  « then 
I  maun  pray  for  twa  faitherless  bairns."  On  another 
occasion  Maister  Dunlop  met,  with  characteristic  hu- 
mour, an  attempt  to  play  off  a  trick  against  him. 
It  was  known  that  he  was  to  dine  with  a  minister, 
whose  manse  was  close  to  the  church,  so  that  his 
return  home  must  be  through  the  churchyard.  Ac- 
cordingly, some  idle  and  mischievous  youths  waited 
for  him  in  the  dark  night,  and  one  of  them  came 
up  to  him,  dressed  as  a  ghost,  in  hopes  of  putting 
him  in  a  fright.  Watty's  cool  accost  speedily  upset 
the  plan.  "  Weel,  Maister  Ghaist,  is  this  a  gen- 
eral rising,  or  are  ye  juist  taking  a  daunder  frae  your 
grave  by  yersell  ?  "  I  have  received  from  a  cor- 
respondent another  specimen  of  Watty's  acute  re- 
joinders. Some  years  ago  the  celebrated  Edward 
Irving  had  been  lecturing  at  Dumfries,  and  a  man 
who  passed  as  a  wag  in  that  locality,  had  been 
to  hear  him.  He  met  Watty  Dunlop  the  follow- 
ing day,  who  said,  "  Weel,  Willie,  man,  an*  what 
do  ye  think  of  Mr.  Irving?"  "Oh,"  said  Willie 
'contemptuously,  "  the  man's  crack't."  Dunlop  pat- 
ted him  on  the  shoulder,  with  the  quiet  remark, 
"  Willie,  ye'll  aften  see  a  light  peeping  through  a 
crack !  » 

An  admirable  story  of  a  quiet  pulpit  rebuke,  is 
traditionary  in  Fife,  and  is  told  of  Mr.  Shirra,  a 
seceding  minister,  of  Kirkcaldy,  a  man  still  well 
remembered  by  some  of  the  older  generation  for 
many  excellent  and  some  eccentric  qualities.  A 


2OO  Reminiscences   of 

young  officer  of  a  volunteer  corps  on  duty  in  the 
place,  very  proud  of  his  fresh  uniform,  had  come  to 
Mr.  Shirra's  church,  and  walked  about  as  if  looking 
for  a  seat,  but  in  fact  to  shew  off  his  dress,  which  he 
saw  was  attracting  attention  from  some  of  the  less 
grave  members  of  the  congregation.  He  came  to 
his  place,  however,  rather  quickly,  on  Mr.  Shirra 
quietly  remonstrating,  "  O*  man,  will  ye  sit  doun, 
and  we'll  see  your  new  breeks  when  the  kirk's 
dune."  This  same  Mr.  Shirra  was  well  known 
from  his  quaint,  and  as  it  were,  parenthetical  com- 
ments which  he  introduced  in  his  reading  of  Script- 
ure; as,  for  example,  en  reading  from  the  n6th 
Psalm,  "  I  said  in  my  haste  all  men  are  liars,"  he 
quietly  observed,  "  Indeed,  Dauvid,  an  ye  had 
been  i'  this  parish  ye  might  hae  said  it  at  your 
leesure." 

There  was  something  even  still  more  pungent 
in  the  incidental  remark  of  a  good  man,  in  the 
course  of  his  sermon,  who  had  in  a  country  place 
taken  to  preaching  out  of  doors  in  the  summer 
afternoons.  He  used  to  collect  the  people  as  they 
were  taking  air  by  the  side  of  a  stream  outside  the 
village.  On  one  occasion  he  had  unfortunately 
taken  his  place  on  a  bank,  and  fixed  himself  on  an 
anfs  nest.  The  active  habits  of  those  little  crea- 
tures soon  made  the  position  of  the  intruder  upon 
their  domain  very  uncomfortable  ;  and  afraid  that 
his  audience  might  observe  something  of  this  dis- 
comfort in  his  manner,  apologised  by  the  remark  — 


Scottish    Life    8f    Character.         201 

"  Brethren,  though  I  hope  I  have  the  word  of  God 
in  my  mouth,  I  think  the  deil  himself  has  gotten 
into  my  breeks." 

There  was  often  no  doubt  a  sharp  conflict  of 
wits  when  some  of  these  humorist  ministers  came 
into  collision  with  members  of  their  flocks  who 
were  also  humorists.  Of  this  nature  is  the  follow- 
ing anecdote,  which  I  am  assured  is  genuine.  A 
minister  in  the  north  was  taking  to  task  one  of  his 
hearers  who  was  a  frequent  defaulter,  and  was  re- 
proaching him  as  an  habitual  absentee  from  pub- 
lic worship.  The  accused  vindicated  himself  on  the 
plea  of  a  dislike  to  long  sermons.  "  'Deed,  man," 
said  his  reverend  monitor,  a  little  nettled  at  the  in- 
sinuation thrown  out  against  himself,  "  if  ye  dinna 
mend,  ye  may  land  yersell  where  ye'll  no  be  troub- 
led wi'  mony  sermons  either  lang  or  short."  "  Weel, 
aiblins  sae,"  retorted  John,  "  but  it  may  na  be  for 
want  o'  ministers."  An  answer  to  Mr.  Shirra  himself, 
strongly  illustrative  of  Scottish  ready  and  really  clev- 
er wit,  and  which  I  am  assured  is  quite  authentic, 
must,  I  think,  have  struck  the  fancy  of  that  excel- 
lent humorist  himself.  When  Mr.  Shirra  was  parish 
minister  of  St.  Ninian's,  one  of  the  members  of  the 
church  was  John  Henderson  or  Anderson  — •-  a  very 
decent  douce  shoemaker — and  who  left  the  church 
and  joined  the  Independents,  who  had  a  meeting  in 
Stirling.  Some  time  afterwards,  when  Mr.  Shirra 
met  John  on  the  road,  he  said,  "  And  so,  John, 
I  understand  you  have  become  an  Independent  ?' 
9* 


2O2  Reminiscences  of 

"  'Deed,  sir,"  replied  John,  "  that's  true."  "  Oh, 
John,"  said  the  minister,  "  Pm  sure  you  ken  that 
a  rowin'  (rolling)  stane  gathers  nae  fog"  (moss). 
"  Aye,"  said  John,  "  that's  true  too  ;  but  can  ye 
tell  me  what  guid  the  fog  does  to  the  stane  ?"  Mr. 
Shirra  himself  afterwards  became  a  Baptist.  The 
wit,  however,  was  all  in  favour  of  the  minister  in 
the  following  :  — 

Dr.  Gilchrist,  formerly  of  the  East  Parish  of 
Greenock,  and  who  died  minister  of  the  Canongate, 
Edinburgh,  received  an  intimation  of  one  of  his 
hearers,  who  had  been  exceedingly  irregular  in  his 
attendance,  that  he  had  taken  seats  in  an  Episcopal 
chapel.  One  day  soon  after,  he  met  his  former 
parishioner,  who  told  him  that  he  had  u  changed 
his  religion."  u  Indeed,"  said  the  Doctor  quietly, 
"  how's  that  ?  I  ne'er  heard  ye  had  ony."  It  was 
this  same  Dr.  Gilchrist  who  gave  the  well-known 
quiet  but  forcible  rebuk^  to  a  young  minister  whom 
he  considered  rather  conceited  and  fond  of  putting 
forward  his  own  doings,  and  who  was  to  officiate 
in  the  Doctor's  church.  He  explained  to  him  the 
mode  in  which  he  usually  conducted  the  service, 
and  stated  that  he  always  finished  the  prayer  before 
the  sermon  with  the  Lord's  Prayer.  The  young 
minister  demurred  at  this,  and  asked  if  he  "  might 
not  introduce  any  other  short  prayer?"  "  Ou  aye," 
was  the  Doctor's  quiet  reply,  "  gif  ye  can  gie  us 
ony  thing  better." 

At  Banchory,  on  Deeside,  some  of  the  criticisms 


Scottish   Life    $•   Character.         203 

and  remarks  on  sermons  were  very  quaint  and  char- 
acteristic. My  cousin  had  asked  the  Ley's  grieve 
what  he  thought  of  a  young  man's  preaching,  who 
rather  imitated  the  ornate  language  than  the  power- 
ful ideas  of  Dr.  Chalmers,  drily  answered,  "  Ou, 
Sir  Thomas,  just  a  floorish  o'  the  surface."  But 
the  same  hearer  bore  this  unequivocal  testimony  to 
another  preacher  whom  he  really  admired.  He  was 
asked  if  he  did  not  think  the  sermon  long,  <c  Na, 
I  shuld  nae  hae  thocht  it  lang  an'  I'd  been  sitting 
on  thorns." 

The  following  anecdotes,  collected  from  different 
contributors,  are  fair  samples  of  the  quaint  and  orig- 
inal character  of  Scottish  ways  and  expressions  now 
becoming  more  and  more  matters  of  reminiscence : 
—  A  poor  man  came  to  his  minister  for  the  purpose 
of  intimating  his  intention  of  being  married.  As  he 
expressed,  however,  some  doubts  on  the  subject,  and 
Seemed  to  hesitate,  the  minister  asked  him  if  there 
were  any  doubts  about  his  being  accepted.  No,  that 
was  not  the  difficulty  ;  but  he  expressed  a  fear  that 
it  might  not  be  altogether  suitable,  and  he  asked 
whether,  if  he  were  once  married,  he  could  not  (in 
case  of  unsuitability  and  unhappiness)  get  ««mar- 
ried  ?  The  clergyman  assured  him  that  it  was  im- 
possible ;  if  he  married  it  must  be  for  better  and 
worse  ;  that  he  could  not  go  back  upon  the  step. 
So  thus  instructed  he  went  away.  After  a  time  he 
returned,  and  said  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  try 
the  experiment,  and  he  came  and  was  married.  Ere 


204  Reminiscences  of 

long  he  came  back  very  disconsolate,  and  declared 
it  would  not  do  at  all ;  that  he  was  quite  miserable, 
and  begged  to  be  unmarried.  The  minister  assured 
him  that  was  out  of  the  question,  and  urged  him  to 
put  away  the  notion  of  anything  so  absurd.  The 
man  insisted  that  the  marriage  could  not  hold  good 
for  the  wife  was  waur  than  the  deevil.  The  min- 
ister demurred,  saying  that  was  quite  impossible. 
"  Na,"  said  the  poor  man,  "  the  Bible  tells  ye  that 
if  ye  resist  the  deil  he  flees  frae  ye,  but  if  ye  resist 
her  she  flees  at  ye." 

A  faithful  minister  of  the  gospel  being  one  day  en- 
gaged in  visiting  some  members  of  his  flock,  came  to 
the  door  of  a  house  where  his  gentle  tapping  could 
not  be  heard  for  the  noise  of  contention  within.  After 
waiting  a  little  he  opened  the  door,  and  walked  in,  say- 
ing, with  an  authoritative  voice,  "I  should  like  to 
know  who  is  the  head  of  this  house."  "  Weel,  sir," 
said  the  husband  and  father,  "  if  ye  sit  doon  a  wee, 
we'll  maybe  be  able  to  tell  ye,  for  we're  just  trying  to 
settle  that  point." 

A  minister  in  the  north  returning  thanks  in  his 
prayers  one  Sabbath  for  the  excellent  harvest,  began, 
as  usual,  "  O-Lord,  we  thank  thee,"  etc.,  and  went 
on  to  mention  its  abundance,  and  its  safe  ingathering; 
but  feeling  anxious  to  be  quite  candid  and  scrupu- 
lously truthful,  added,  "  all  except  a  few  fields  be- 
tween this  and  Stonehaven,  not  worth  mentioning." 

A  Scotch  preacher  being  sent  to  officiate  one  Sun- 
day at  a  country  parish,  was  accommodated  at  night 


Scottish  Life  8f  Character.  205 

in  the  manse,  in  a  very  diminutive  closet,  instead  of 
the  usual  best  bed-room  appropriated  to  strangers. 

"  Is  this  the  bed-room  ?  "  he  said,  starting  back  in 
amazement. 

"  'Deed  aye  sir,  this  is  the  prophets'  chalmer." 

"  It  maun  be  for  the  minor  prophets,  then,"  was 
the  quiet  reply. 

Elders  of  the  kirk,  no  doubt,  frequently  partook 
of  the  original  and  humorous  character  of  ministers 
and  others,  their  contemporaries  ;  and  amusing  scenes 
must  have  passed,  and  good  Scotch  sayings  been 
said,  where  they  were  concerned.  Dr.  Chalmers 
used  to  repeat  one  of  these  sayings  of  an  elder 
with  great  delight.  The  Doctor  associated  with 
the  anecdote  the  name  of  Lady  Glenorchy  and  the 
church  which  she  endowed  ;  but  I  am  assured  that 
the  person  was  Lady  Elizabeth  Cunninghame,  sister 
of  Archibald  eleventh  Earl  of  Eglinton,  and  wife 
of  Sir  John  Cunninghame,  Bart,  of  Caprington,  near 
Kilmarnock.  It  seems  her  ladyship  had,  for  some 
reason,  taken  offence  at  the  proceedings  of  the  Cap- 
rington parochial  authorities,  and  a  result  of  which 
was  that  she  ceased  putting  her  usual  liberal  offering 
into  the  plate  at  the  door.  This  had  gone  on  for  some 
time,  till  one  of  the  elders,  of  a  less  forbearing  char- 
acter than  the  others,  took  his  turn  at  the  plate. 
Lady  Elizabeth,  as  usual,  passed  by  without  a  con- 
tribution, but  made  a  formal  courtesy  to  the  elder  as 
she  passed,  and  sailed  majestically  up  the  aisle.  The 
good  man  was  determined  not  to  let  her  pass  so 


206  Reminiscences    of 

easily.  He  quickly  followed  her  up  the  passage,  and 
urged  the  remonstrance,  "  My  lady,  gie  us  less  o* 
your  mainers  and  mair  o'  your  siller."  l 

Of  an  eccentric  and  eloquent  professor  and  divine 
of  a  northern  Scottish  university,  there  are  numer- 
ous and  extraordinary  traditionary  anecdotes.  I  have 
received  an  account  of  some  of  these  anecdotes 
from  the  kind  communication  of  an  eminent  Scot- 


1  Although  the  name  of  Lady  Glenorchy  has  been  errone- 
ously associated  with  the  above  story,  and  with  a  demeanour 
which  was  quite  foreign  to  her  general  character,  still  it  is  very 
suitable,  I  think,  to  retain  my  former  reference  to  the  history  of 
this  noble  lady  since  her  death  as  forming  a  striking  illustration 
of  the  uncertainty  of  all  earthly  concerns,  and  as  supplying  a 
Scottish  reminiscence  belonging  to  the  last  seventy  years.  Wil- 
helmina  Viscountess  Glenorchy,  during  her  lifetime,  built  and 
endowed  a  church  for  two  ministers,  who  were  provided  with 
very  handsome  incomes.  She  died  i7th  July,  1786,  and  was 
buried  on  the  24th  July,  aged  44.  Her  interment  took  place, 
by  her  own  direction,  in  the  church  she  had  founded,  immedi- 
ately in  front  of  the  pulpit ;  and  she  fixed  upon  that  spot  as  a 
place  of  security  and  safety,  where  her  mortal  remains  might 
rest  in  peace  till  the  morning  of  the  resurrection.  But  alas  for 
the  uncertainty  of  all  earthly  plans  and  projects  for  the  future  ! 
—  the  iron  road  came  on  its  reckless  course,  and  swept  the 
church  away.  The  site  was  required  for  the  North  British 
Railway,  which  passed  directly  over  the  spot  where  Lady  Glen- 
orchy had  been  buried.  Her  remains  were  accordingly  disin- 
tered  24th  December  1844;  and  the  trustees  of  the  church, 
not  having  yet  erected  a  new  one,  deposited  the  body  of  their 
foundress  in  the  vaults  beneath  St.  John's  Episcopal  Church, 
and  after  resting  there  for  fifteen  years,  were,  in  1859,  removed 
to  the  building  which  is  now  Lady  Glenorchy's  Church. 


Scottish   Life    8f   Character.          207 

tish  clergyman,  who  was  himself  in  early  days  his 
frequent  hearer.  The  stories  told  of  the  strange 
observations  and  allusions  which  he  introduced  into 
his  pulpit  discourses,  almost  surpass  belief.  For 
many  reasons,  they  are  not  suitable  to  the  nature 
of  this  publication,  still  less  could  they  be  tolerated 
in  any  pulpit  administration  now,  although  familiar  to 
his  contemporaries.  The  remarkable  circumstance, 
however,  connected  with  these  eccentricities  was, 
that  he  introduced  them  with  the  utmost  gravity,  and 
oftentimes  after  he  had  delivered  them,  pursued  his 
subject  with  great  earnestness  and  eloquence,  as  if 
he  had  said  nothing  uncommon.  One  saying  of  the 
Professor,  however,  out  of  the  pulpit,  is  too  good  to 
be  omitted,  and  may  be  recorded  without  violation 
of  propriety.  He  happened  to  meet  at  the  house  of 
a  lawyer,  whom  he  considered  rather  a  man  of  sharp 
practice,  and  for  whom  he  had  no  great  favour,  two 
of  his  own  parishioners.  The  lawyer  jocularly  and 
ungraciously  put  the  question  :  "  Doctor,  these  are 
members  of  your  flock  ;  may  I  ask,  do  you  look 
upon  them  as  white  sheep  or  as  black  sheep  ?  "  <c  I 
don't  know,"  answered  the  Professor  drily,  "  wheth- 
er they  are  black  or  white  sheep,  but  I  know  that  if 
they  are  long  here  they  are  pretty  sure  to  be  fleeced." 
I  cannot  do  better  in  regard  to  the  three  following 
anecdotes  of  the  late  Professor  Gillespie  of  St.  An- 
drews, than  give  them  to  my  readers  in  the  words 
with  which  Dr.  Lindsay  Alexander  kindly  communi- 
cated them  to  me. 


208  Reminiscences  of 

"  In  the  c  Cornhill  Magazine'  for  March  1860,  in 
an  article  on  Student  Life  in  Scotland,  there  is  an 
anecdote  of  the  late  Professor  Gillespie  of  St.  An- 
drews, which  is  told  in  such  a  way  as  to  miss  the 
point  and  humour  of  the  story.  The  correct  ver- 
sion, as  I  have  .heard  it  from  the  Professor  himself, 
is  this  :  having  employed  the  village  carpenter  to  put 
a  frame  round  a  dial  at  the  manse  of  Cults,  where 
he  was  minister,  he  received  from  the  man  a  bill  to 
the  following  effect,  — c  To  fencing  the  dell,  55.  6d.' 
'  When  I  paid  him,'  said  the  Professor,  c  I  could  not 
help  saying,  John,  this  is  rather  more  than  I  counted 
on  ;  but  I  haven't  a  word  to  say.  I  get  somewhere 
about  two  hundred  a  year  for  fencing  the  dell,  and 
Pm  afraid  I  don't  do  it  half  so  effectually  as  you've 
done.' 

"  Whilst  I  am  writing,  another  of  the  many  stories 
of  the  learned  and  facetious  Professor  rises  in  my 
mind.  There  was  a  worthy  old  woman  at  Cults 
whose  place  in  church  was  what  is  commonly  called 
the  Lateran  ;  a  kind  of  small  gallery  at  the  top  of 
the  pulpit  steps.  She  was  a  most  regular  attender, 
but  as  regularly  fell  asleep  during  sermon,  of  which 
fault  the  preacher  had  sometimes  audible  intimation. 
It  was  observed,  however,  that  though  Janet  always 
slept  during  her  own  pastor's  discourse,  she  could  be 
attentive  enough  when  she  pleased,  and  especially  was 
she  alert  when  some  young  preacher  occupied  the 
pulpit.  A  little  piqued,  perhaps,  at  this,  Mr.  Gilles- 
pie said  to  her  one  day,  '  Janet,  I  think  you  hardly 


Scottish   Life   8f   Character.          209 

behave  very  respectfully  to  your  own  minister  in  one 
respect.'  c  Me,  sir/  exclaimed  Janet,  c  I  wad  like 
to  see  ony  man,  no  to  say  woman,  by  yoursel  say 
that  o'  me  !  what  can  you  mean,  sir  ? '  c  Weel, 
Janet,  ye  ken  when  I  preach,  you're  almost  always 
fast  asleep  before  I've  well  given  out  my  text ;  but 
when  any  of  these  young  men  from  St.  Andrews 
preach  for  me,  I  see  you  never  sleep  a  wink.  Now, 
that's  what  I  call  no  using  me  as  you  should  do.' 
c  Hoot,  sir,'  was  the  reply,  c  is  that  a'  ?  I'll  sune  tell 
you  the  reason  o'  that.  When  you  preach,  we  a'  ken 
the  word  o'  God's  safe  in  your  hands  ;  but  when 
these  young  birkies  tak'  it  in  haun,  my  certie,  but  it 
tak's  us  a'  to  look  after  them.' l 

"  I  am  tempted  to  subjoin  another.  In  the  Hu- 
manity Class,  one  day,  a  youth  who  was  rather 
fond  of  shewing  off  his  powers  of  language,  trans- 
lated Hor.  Od.  iii.,  3,  61,  62,  somewhat  thus : 
c  The  fortunes  of  Troy  renascent  under  sorrowful 
omen  shall  be  repeated  with  sad  catastrophe.'  c  Ca- 
tastrophe,' cried  the  Professor.  c  Catastrophe,  Mr. 

: .    that's  Greek.     Give    us  it  in  plain  English, 

if  you  please  ? '  Thus  suddenly  pulled  down  from 
his  high  horse,  the  student  effected  his  retreat  with 
a  rather  lame  and  impotent  version.  '  Now,'  said 
the  Professor,  his  little  sharp  eyes  twinkling  with 

1  I  have  abundant  evidence  to  prove  that  a  similar  answer 
to  that  which  Dr.  Alexander  records  to  have  been  made  to 
Mr.  Gillespie,  has  been  given  on  similar  occasions  by  others. 
E.  B.  R. 


2 to  Reminiscences    of 

fun,  c  that  brings  to  my  recollection  what  once 
happened  to  a  friend  of  mine,  a  minister  in  the 
country.  Being  a  scholarly  man,  he  was  some- 
times betrayed  into  the  use  of  words  in  the  pulpit 
which  the  people  were  not  likely  to  understand, 
but  being  very  conscientious,  he  never  detected 
himself  in  this,  without  pausing  to  give  the  mean- 
ing of  the  word  he  had  used,  and  sometimes  his 
extempore  explanations  of  very  fine  words  were  a 

little  like  what  we  have  just  had   from  Mr. , 

rather  too  flat  and  commonplace.  On  one  occa- 
sion, he  allowed  this  very  word  'catastrophe'  to 
drop  from  him,  on  which  he  immediately  added, 
c  that  you  know,  my  friends,  means  the  end  of  a 
thing.'  Next  day,  as  he  was  riding  through  his 
parish,  some  mischievous  youth  succeeded  in  fas- 
tening a  bunch  of  furze  to  his  horse's  tail,  —  a  trick 
which,  had  the  animal  been  skittish,  might  have 
exposed  the  worthy  pastor's  horsemanship  to  too 
severe  a  trial,  but  which  happily  had  no  effect  what- 
ever on  the  sober-minded  and  respectable  quadru- 
ped which  he  bestrode.  On,  therefore,  he  quietly 
jogged,  utterly  unconscious  of  the  addition  that 
had  been  made  to  his  horse's  caudal  region,  until, 
as  he  was  passing  some  cottages,  he  was  arrested 
by  the  shrill  voice  of  an  old  woman,  exclaiming, 
c  Heh,  sir  !  Heh,  sir  !  there's  a  whun-buss  at  your 
horse's  catawstrophe  ! ' ' 

I  have  brought  in  the  following  anecdote,  exactly 
as  it  appeared  in  the  Scotsman  of  October  4,  1859, 


Scottish    Life    fy    Character.          211 

because  it  introduces  the  name  of  Rev.  John  Skin- 
ner, of  Langside,  author  of  "  Tullochgorum," 
"The  Ewie  wi'  the  Crooked  Horn,"  and  other  ex- 
cellent Scottish  songs.  Skinner  was  also  a  learned 
divine,  and  wrote  theological  works  in  Latin  and 
English.  He  was  a  correspondent  of  Burns,  and  his 
name  was  "  familiar  as  household  words  "  to  the  old 
people  of  Aberdeenshire  and  Forfar.  The  anecdote 
I  allude  to  was  thus  introduced  :  — 

"  AN  OMISSION  IN  DEAN  RAMSAY'S  c  REMINIS- 
CENCES.'—  The  late  Rev.  John  Skinner,  long  Epis- 
copal clergyman  of  Forfar,  was  first  appointed  to  a 
charge  in  Montrose,  from  whence  he  was  removed 
to  Banff,  and  ultimately  to  Forfar.  After  he  had 
left  Montrose,  it  reached  his  ears  that  an  ill-natured 
insinuation  was  circulating  in  Montrose  that  he  had 
been  induced  to  leave  this  town  by  the  temptation  of 
a  better  income  and  of  fat  pork,  which,  it  would  ap- 
pear, was  plentiful  in  the  locality  of  his  new  incum- 
bency. Indignant  at  such  an  aspersion,  he  wrote  a 
letter,  directed  to  his  maligners,  vindicating  himself 
sharply  from  it,  which  he  shewed  to  his  grandfather, 
the  well-known  rev.  and  accomplished  poet  John 
Skinner  of  Langside,  for  his  approval.  The  old  gen- 
tleman objected  to  it  as  too  lengthy,  and  proposed 
the  following  pithy  substitute :  — 

'  Had  Skinner  been  of  carnal  mind, 

As  strangely  ye  suppose, 
Or  had  he  even  been  fond  of  swine, 

He'd  ne'er  have  left  Montrose.'  " 


2-12  Reminiscences    of 

But  there  is  an  anecdote  of  John  Skinner  which 
should  endear  his  memory  to  every  generous  and 
loving  heart.  On  one  occasion  he  was  passing  a 
small  dissenting  place  of  worship  at  the  time  when 
the  congregation  were  engaged  in  singing  j  on  pass- 
ing the  door  —  old  fashioned  Scottish  Episcopalian 
as  he  was  —  he  reverently  took  off  his  hat.  His 
companion  said  to  him,  "  What !  do  you  feel  so 
much  sympathy  with  this  Anti-Burgher  congrega- 
tion ?  "  "  No,"  said  Mr.  Skinner,  "  but  I  respect 
and  love  any  of  my  fellow  Christians  who  are  en- 
gaged in  singing  to  the  glory  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  Well  done,  old  Tullochgorum  !  thy  name 
shall  be  loved  and  honoured  by  every  true  liberal- 
minded  Scotsman. 

On  the  subject  of  epigrams,  I  have  received  a 
clever  impromptu  of  a  judge's  lady,  produced  in  re- 
ply to  one  made  by  the  witty  Henry  Erskine.  At  a 
dinner  party  at  Lord  Armadale's,  when  a  bottle  of 
claret  was  called  for,  port  was  brought  in  by  mistake. 
A  second  time  claret  was  sent  for,  and  a  second  time 
the  same  mistake  occurred.  Henry  Erskine  addressed 
the  host  in  an  impromptu,  which  was  meant  as  a 
parody  on  the  well-known  Scottish  song,  "  My  jo, 
Janet"  — 

"  Kind  sir,  it's  for  your  courtesie 

When  I  come  here  to  dine,  sir, 
.     For  the  love  ye  bear  to  me, 

Gie  me  the  claret  wine,  sir." 

To  which  Mrs.  Honeyman  retorted  — 


./ 


Scottish   Life   4*    Character.          2*3 

"  Drink  the  port,  the  claret's  dear, 

Erskine,  Erskine  ; 
Ye'll  get  fou  on't,  never  fear, 
My  jo,  Erskine." 

Some  of  my  younger  readers  may  not  be  familiar 
with  the  epigram  of  John  Home,  author  of  the  trag- 
edy of  "  Douglas."  The  lines  were  great  favourites 
with  Sir  Walter  Scott,  who  delighted  in  repeating 
them.  Home  was  very  partial  to  claret,  and  could 
not  bear  port.  He  was  exceedingly  indignant  when 
the  government  laid  a  tax  upon  claret,  having  previ- 
ously long  connived  at  its  introduction  into  Scotland 
under  very  mitigated  duties.  He  embodied  his  an- 
ger in  the  following  epigram  — 

"  Firm  and  erect  the  Caledonian  stood, 
Old  was  his  mutton,  and  his  claret  good ; 
'  Let  him  drink  port,'  an  English  statesman  cried  — 
He  drank  the  poison,  and  his  spirit  died." 

There  is  a  curious  story  traditionary  in  some  fam- 
ilies regarding  a  Scottish  nobleman,  celebrated  in 
Scottish  history,  which,  I  am  assured,  is  true,  and 
farther,  that  it  has  never  yet  appeared  in  print.  The 
story  is,  therefore,  a  Scottish  reminiscence,  and,  as 
such,  deserves  a  place  here.  The  Earl  of  Lauder- 
dale  was  so  ill  as  to  cause  great  alarm  to  his  friends, 
and  perplexity  to  his  physicians.  One  distressing 
symptom  was  a  total  absence  of  sleep,  and  the  med- 
ical men  declared  their  opinion,  that  without  sleep 
being  induced,  he  could  not  recover.  His  son,  a 
queer  eccentric-looking  boy,  who  was  considered 


214  Reminiscences   of 

not  entirely  right  in  his  mind,  but  somewhat  "daft" 
and  who  accordingly  had  had  little  attention  paid  to 
his  education,  was  sitting  under  the  table,  and  cried 
out,  "  Sen'  for  that  preaching  man  frae  Livingstone, 
for  he  aye  sleeps  in  the  kirk."  One  of  the  doc- 
tors thought  this  hint  worth  attending  to.  The 
experiment  of  "  getting  a  minister  till  him"  suc- 
ceeded, and  sleep  coming  on,  he  recovered.  The 
Earl,  out  of  gratitude  for  this  benefit,  took  more  no- 
tice of  his  son,  paid  attention  to  his  education,  and 
that  boy  became  the  Duke  of  Lauderdale,  afterwards 
so  famous  or  infamous  in  his  country's  history. 

The  following  very  amusing  anecdote,  although 
it  belongs  more  properly  to  the  division  or  pecu- 
liarities of  Scottish  dialect  and  phraseology,  I  give 
in  the  words  of  a  correspondent  who  received  it 
from  the  parties  with  whom  it  originated.  About 
twenty  years  ago,  he  was  paying  a  visit  to  a  cousin, 
married  to  a  Liverpool  merchant  of  some  standing. 
The  husband  had  lately  had  a  visit  from  his  aged 
father,  who  formerly  followed  the  occupation  of 
farming  in  Stirlingshire,  and  who ;,  had  probably 
never  been  out  of  Scotland  before  in  his  life.  The 
son,  finding  his  father  rather  de  trop  in  his  office, 
one  day  persuaded  him  to  cross  the  ferry  over  the 
Mersey,  and  inspect  the  harvesting,  then  in  full 
operation,  on  the  Cheshire  side.  On  landing  he 
approached  a  young  woman  reaping  with  the  sickle 
in  a  field  of  oats,  when  the  following  dialogue  en- 
sued :  — 


Scottish   Life    Sf   Character.  215 

Farmer.  —  Lassie,  are  yer  aits  muckle  bookit 
th'  year  ? 

Reaper.  —  Sir ! 

Farmer.  —  I  was  speiring  gif  yer  aits  are  muckle 
bookit  th'  year. 

Reaper  (in  amazement).  —  I  really  don't  know 
what  you-  are  saying,  sir. 

Farmer  (in  equal  astonishment).  —  Gude — safe 
—  us, — do  ye  no  understaan  gude  plain  English! 
— •  are  —  yer  —  aits  - —  muckle  —  bookit  ? 

Reaper  decamps  to  her  nearest  companion  say- 
ing that  was  a  madman,  while  he  shouted  in  great 
wrath,  "  They  were  naething  else  than  a  set  o' 
ignorant  pockpuddings." 

The  following  anecdote  is  highly  illustrative  of 
the  thoroughly  attached  old  family  serving-man. 
A  correspondent  sends  it  as  told  to  him  by  an  old 
schoolfellow  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  at  Fraser  and 
Adam's  class,  High  School. 

One  of  the  lairds  of  Abercairnie  proposed  to  go 
out^  on  the  occasion  of  one  of  the  risings  for  the 
Stuarts,  in  the  '15  or  '45 — but  this  was  not  with 
the  will  of  his  old  serving-man,  who,  when  Aber- 
cairnie was  pulling  on  his  boots,  preparing  to  go, 
overturned  a  kettle  of  boiling  water  upon  his  legs, 
so  as  to  disable  him  from  joining  his  friends  —  say- 
ing, "Tak  that  —  Let  them  fecht  wha  like,  stay 
ye  at  hame  and  be  Laird  o'  Abercairnie." 

A  story  illustrative  of  a  union  of  polite  cour- 
tesy, with  rough  and  violent  ebullition  of  temper 


2 1 6  Reminiscences   of 

common  in  the  Old  Scottish  character,  is  well 
known  in  the  Lothian  family.  William  Henry, 
fourth  Marquis  of  Lothian,  had  for  his  guest  at 
dinner  an  old  countess  to  whom  he  wished  to  shew 
particular  respect  and  attention.1  After  a  very  com- 
plimentary reception,  he  put  on  his  white  gloves  to 
hand  her  down  stairs,  led  her  to  the  upper  end  of 
the  table,  bowed  and  retired  to  his  own  place.  This 
I  am  assured  was  the  usual  custom  with  the  chief 
lady  guest  by  persons  who  themselves  remember 
it.  After  all  were  seated,  the  Marquis  addressed 
the  lady,  <c  Madam,  may  I  have  the  honour  and 
happiness  of  helping  your  ladyship  to  some  fish  ?  " 
But  he  got  no  answer,  for  the  poor  woman  was 
deaf  as  a  post,  and  did  not  hear  him  ;  after  a  pause, 
but  still  in  the  most  courteous  accents,  u  Madam, 
have  I  your  ladyship's  permission  to  send  you  some 
fish  ? "  Then  a  little  quicker,  "  Is  your  ladyship 
inclined  to  take  fish  ? "  Very  quick,  and  rather 
peremptory,  "  Madam,  do  you  choice  fish  ?  "  At 
last  the  thunder  burst,  to  everybody's  consterna- 
tion, with  a  loud  thump  on  the  table  and  stamp  on 
the  floor :  "  Con  —  found  ye,  will  ye  have  any 
fish  ? "  I  am  afraid  the  exclamation  might  have 
been  even  of  a  more  pungent  character. 

A  correspondent  has  kindly  enabled  me  to  add  a 
reminiscence  and  anecdote  of  a  type  of  Scottish  char- 

1  This  Marquis  of  Lothian  was  aid-de-camp  to  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland  at  the  battle  of  Culloden,  and  sullied  his  character 
as  a  soldier  and  a  nobleman  by  the  cruelties  which  he  exercised 
on  the  vanquished. 


Scottish   Life    8f   Character.          217 

acter  now  nearly  extinct,  —  I  mean  the  old  Scottish 
military  officer,  of  the  wars  of  Holland,  and  the  Low 
Countries.  I  give  them  in  his  own  words  :  "  My 
father,  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Bethune,  minister  of  Dor- 
noch,  was  on  friendly  terms  with  a  fine  old  soldier, 
the  late  Colonel  Alexander  Sutherland,  of  Calmaly 
and  Braegrudy,  in  Sutherlandshire,  who  was  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel of  the  c  Local  Militia ,'  and  who  used 
occasionally,  in  his  word  of  command,  to  break  out 
with  a  Gaelic  phrase  to  the  men,  much  to  the  amuse- 
ment of  bystanders.  He  called  his  charger,  a  high 
boned  not  overfed  animal,  Cadaver  —  a  play  upon 
accents,  for  he  was  a  good  classical  scholar,  and  fond 
of  quoting  the  Latin  poets.  But  he  had  no  relish 
nor  respect  for  the  c  modern  languages ,'  particularly 
for  that  of  our  neighbours,  whom  he  looked  upon  as 
'  hereditary  '  enemies  !  My  father  and  the  Colonel 
were  both  politicians,  as  well  as  scholars.  Reading  a 
newspaper  article  in  his  presence  one  day,  my  father 
stopped  short,  handing  the  paper  to  him,  and  said, 
*  Colonel,  here  is  a  French  quotation,  which  you  can 
translate  better  than  I  can.'  c  No,  sir  ! '  said  the 
Colonel,  CI  never  learnt  the  language  of  the  scoun- 
drels !  !  !  '  The  Colonel  was  known  as  c  Col.  Sandy 
Sutherland,'  and  the  men  always  called  him  Colonel 
Sandy.  He  was  a  splendid  specimen  of  the  hale 
veteran,  with  a  stentorian  voice,  and  the  last  queue  I 
remember  to  have  seen." 

I    have   already  referred    to    the  communications 
which  this  little  work  has   procured  for  me,   from 


2l8  Reminiscences  of 

various  correspondents  j  in  some  cases  from  entire 
strangers.  I  now  wish  to  introduce  the  kind  notices 
I  have  received  from  Rev.  Dr.  Clason,  of  Buccleuch 
Free  Church,  Edinburgh.  Dr.  Clason  has  complete- 
ly entered  into  my  idea  of  recording  past  Scottish 
habits  and  manners,  of  the  last  fifty  years.  The  let- 
ters he  has  written  on  the  subject  are  so  truly  "  Rem- 
iniscences of  Scottish  Life  and  Character,"  so  easily 
and  pleasantly  narrated,  and  at  the  same  time  pre- 
serve so  many  curious  particulars  of  a  bygone  time, 
that  I  have  requested  his  permission  to  insert  a  great 
portion  of  his  letters  just  as  they  were  written.  The 
Rev.  Doctor  hesitated  at  seeing  in  print  what  he  had 
written  merely  as  a  private  communication.  But  he 
kindly  yielded  to  my  urgent  wish  on  the  subject,  and 
I  am  persuaded  that  my  readers  will  feel  with  me, 
that  one  great  charm  belonging  to  such  notes  of  our 
recollection  of  the  past,  is  the  unconstrained  and  in- 
formal manner  of  recalling  them  to  oneself,  and  of 
communicating  them  to  others.  Dr.  Clason's  com- 
munications were  contained  in  several  letters,  but  I 
have  taken  the  liberty  of  throwing  them  into  one 
continued  narrative,  and  introducing  them  into  this 
portion  of  the  volume  which  closes  the  series  of 
reminiscences,  and  just  before  the  concluding  re- 
marks upon  the  whole  subject.  . 

In  his  first  letter,  after  expressing  himself  with 
much  kindness  in  regard  to  a  little  work  on  a  re- 
ligious subject  which  I  had  sent  to  him,  Dr.  Clason 
observes,  "  You  are  certainly  doing  much  to  knit 


Scottish   Life    4*    Character.  219 

the  professing  Christians  of  this  land  more  closely 
to  one  another,  and  to  draw  them  nearer  to  their 
great  Head.  You  must  not  wonder  if  I  regard 
this  book  as  in  some  respects  kindred  to  the  other 
volume  (the  Reminiscences),  which  reminds  us 
that  we  are  the  members  of  one  old  family,  who, 
making  allowance  for  many  divisions  in  opinion  and 
taste,  have  much  in  common.  I  am  glad  to  ob- 
serve that  your  volume  of  Reminiscences  is  grow- 
ing in  popularity,  and  I  hope  you  will  continue  to 
answer  the  demand  for  repeated  editions.  I  would 
remark  in  passing,  that  I  wish  something  of  the 
same  kind  were  attempted  for  England.  I  have 
had  enough  of  intercourse  with  our  southern  neigh- 
bours to  mark  the  striking  contrast  between  the 
English  and  Scotch.  Take  two  instances.  I  was 
on  one  occasion  an  outside  passenger  on  an  Eng- 
lish stage-coach  ;  a  fellow  passenger  asked  the 
coachman,  "  Does  this  coach  run  on  Sundays  ?  " 
Answer  —  "Thank  God,  no,  sir."  Passenger  — 
"  That  is  a  great  loss  to  you."  Answer  — "  No, 
sir;  a  man  that  can't  earn  his  bread  in  six  days, 
won't  earn  it  in  seven."  This  was  good,  but  what 
would  a  Scotsman  have  said  in  such  a  case  — 
"  Weel,  you  can  mind  that  when  you  pay  me." 

In  the  other  case,  I  asked  permission  from  a 
young  woman  to  enter  her  garden,  as  I  had  no 
other  way  of  seeing  the  outline  of  a  new  church 
which  was  in  course  of  being  built.  The  request 
was  readily  granted,  and  when  I  expressed  my  grat- 


22O  Reminiscences    of 

itude  in  warm  terms,  and  said  how  much  I  was 
obliged  to  her,  her  remark  was,  "  Most  people 
don't  think  so,  sir."  Now^  a  Scotch  woman  would 
have  said,  "  Ou  ay  —  you  are  welcome  to  gang  in, 
but  take  care  no  to  tramp  on  the  Syboes."  He  then 
proceeds  with  his  Scottish  reminiscences : — 

"  Perhaps,  by  way  of  introduction,  I  may  be  al- 
lowed to"  say  a  word  or  two*  of  my  own  personal 
history,  merely  and  solely  for  the  purpose  of  shew- 
ing the  opportunity  I  have  had  of  observing  the 
manners  and  habits  of  my  countrymen. 

"  I  was  born  at  the  Manse  of  Dalzell  (in  Clydes- 
dale), which  had  been,  before  the  Reformation,  the 
residence  of  the  Popish  priest.  No  doubt  it  had 
been  added  to  ;  for  the  priest  being  under  the  vow 
of  celibacy  did  not  require  many  rooms,.  A  kitchen 
and  pantry,  a  room  above,  with  a  brewery  and  cellar, 
seem  to  have  been  his  whole  accommodation,  if  in- 
deed he  had  so  much.  The  cellar  was  in  more 
modern  times  turned  into  the  dining-room,  the  only 
public  room  for  some  years  after  my  birth  in  the 
manse,  and  three  bed-rooms  were  added  above,  two 
of  them  very  small.  I  am  speaking  of  things  as 
they  were  more  than  sixty  years  ago,  and  it  cer- 
tainly affords  a  striking  contrast  to  things  as  they 
are  at  present.  I  am  afraid  that  some  of  my  Free 
Church  brethren  would  not  be  satisfied  to  occupy 
such  a  house  now.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years, 
another  public  room  and  two  bed-rooms  were 


Scottish    Life   fy   Character.          221 

added,  and  then  we  thought  we  had  the  grandest 
house  in  the  kingdom.  But  at  what  a  cost  were 
they  acquired  !  For  the  convenience  of  the  parish, 
a  church  had  been  lately  built  in  a  new  locality, 
but  the  old  church  remained  entire.  It  was  a  small 
but  exquisite  specimen  of  early  Gothic.  The  chan- 
cel roofed  with  flagstones,  and  the  rest  in  excellent 
repair.  The  contractor  was  allowed  to  take  down 
this  edifice  to  build  the  addition  to  the  manse,  and 
often  he  said,  that  if  he  had  known  the  work  was 
to  be  so  laborious  he  would  rather  have  gone  to 
the  quarry  for  .  stones.  I  refer  to  these  reminis- 
cences of  the  old  church  to  mark  the  change  of 
times  and  tastes. 

"Early  in  1801,  my  father  was  translated  to  Logic, 
near  Stirling  —  a  county  that  has  richer  stores  of 
proverbs  and  traditions  than  the  place  of  my  birth, 
and  in  1815  I  was  ordained  minister  of  Carmun- 
nock,  near  Glasgow.  Lady  Stuart  of  Castlemilk 
was  my  patroness  — a  lady  of  singular  talent  and 
Christian  worth,  and  withal  thoroughly  Scotch,  who 
spoke  Scotch,  thought  in  Scotch,  and  who  knew 
well  the  peculiarities  of  Scottish  humour  and  char- 
acter. She  was  indeed  as  a  mother  to  the  parish, 
and  specially  to  the  minister ;  and,  besides  better 
things,  I  learned  from  her  many  Scotch  words  and 
proverbs  which  I  had  never  before  heard. 

"  You  refer  to  Miss  Erskine  of  Dun.  I  remem- 
ber meeting  her  and  her  mother  at  Castlemilk,  and 
I  refer  to  the  fact  as  marking  the  easy  terms  on 


222  Reminiscences  of 

which  the  gentry  of  former  times  lived  with  one 
another.  We  were  at  dinner  when  the  carriage 
arrived.  No  matter.  The  ladies  took  off"  their 
bonnets  and  sat  down  to  dinner.  Some  little  re- 
gret was  expressed  that  we  had  begun  before  they 
came,  and  all  the  answer  was,  c  Ou,  did  ye  no  get 
our  letter  ?  '  Thus  everything  was  settled,  and  the 
conversation  flowed  on  so  naturally  and  so  genially 
that  no  one  thought  of  inquiring  after  the  missing 
letter.  Lady  S.  expressed  great  contempt  at  the 
formality  of  modern  intercourse  among  families. 
c  Invitations  to  dinner  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks 
hence  are  foolish,  for  no  one  knows  what  may  hap- 
pen within  that  time ;  *  and  instances  did  occur 
which  she  noticed  as  illustrative  of  her  remark. 
In  some  instances  death,  in  others  severe  affliction, 
but,  in  spite  of  the  reason  of  the  thing,  old  rules 
have  yielded  to  modern  innovations. 

"  -As  I  presume  to  use  so  much  liberty  as  a  corre- 
spondent, so  I  do  not  ask  you  nor  expect  that  you  are 
to  take  notice  of  all  the  trifles  I  may  write. 

u  As  you  know,  we  Scotch  ministers  are  charac- 
teristically fond  of  c  heads,'  I  mean,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, to  write  of  three  things — I.  Birth  and  bap- 
tism j  2.  Marriage,  and  ceremonies  connected  there- 
with ;  3.  Deaths  and  Funerals. 

"  I.  Births  ^  etc.  —  In  my  younger  days  it  was  the 
fashion  for  the  better  classes  of  society  to  intimate  a 
birth  in  the  family  as  we  still  do  a  death.  In  Hamil- 
ton, the  announcement  was  made  in  a  truly  primitive 


Scottish   Life    8f    Character.         223 

style,  not  by  a  billet,  but  by  a  verbal  message,  — 
cMrs.  A. 's  compliments  to  Mrs.  B.,  arid  she's  lichter 
o*  a  laddie  or  lass  bairn  '  (as  the  case  might  be). 

"  There  is  a  custom,  strictly  Scottish,  which  used 
to  be  connected  with  the  preliminaries  of  the  baptism 
service,  and  which  may  occasionally  be  found  in  the 
present  day.  A  young  unmarried  woman  takes  the 
child  to  church,  and  she  carries  in  her  hand  a  slice 
of  bread  and  cheese,  with  a  pin  out  of  the  child's 
dress,  which  she  is  bound  to  give  to  the  first  male 
person  she  meets.  Since  I  became  a  minister  I  heard 
of  an  amusing  incident  resulting  from  this  custom. 
An  English  duke  (his  name  is  of  no  consequence) 
had  arrived  in  Glasgow  on  a  Sunday,  and  was  wan- 
dering in  the  streets  during  the  time  of  afternoon 
service.  A  young  woman  came  up  to  him  with  a 
child  in  her  arms,  and  presented  a  slice  of  bread  and 
cheese.  In  vain  he  protested  that  he  did  not  know 
what  she  meant — that  he  had  nothing  to  do  with 
her  or  the  child  —  that  he  was  an  entire  stranger  — 
that  he  had  never  been  in  Scotland  before  —  that  he 
knew  nothing  of  the  usages  of  the  Presbyterian 
Kirk,  being  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  that  she 
should  give  the  morsel  to  somebody  else.  The  young 
woman  was  deaf  to  all  his  arguments,  and  held  out 
authoritatively  the  bread  and  cheese.  Thinking  prob- 
ably that  the  lass  had  not  given  him  credit  for  what 
he  said,  he  told  her,  in  perfect  simplicity,  that  he 

was  the  Duke  of ,  and  that  he  had  just  arrived 

at  a  hotel  which  he  named.     The  answer  shut  his 


224   •  Reminiscences  of 

mouth,  c  Though  you  were  the  king  on  the  throne, 
you  maun  tak  that  bread  and  cheese.' 

"  Public  baptism  was  the  fashion  down  till  the 
middle  of  last  century,  if  not  later.  The  chronicles 
of  Hamilton  have  not  failed  to  record  the  fact  that  the 
Duke  of  Hamilton  brought  his  children  to  church, 
like  the  rest.  On  two  occasions  his  Grace  met  an 
honest  shoemaker  at  the  baptismal  font,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  service  kindly  remarked  to  him, c  Friend, 
you  and  I  have  luck  to  meet  here.'  Before  leaving 
this  matter,  I  cannot  help  observing  that  there  surely 
is  a  remarkable  tendency  to  the  old  usage  in  our  own 
day.  When  I  came  to  Edinburgh,  which  is  now 
about  thirty-six  years  ago,  no  man  of  any  consider- 
ation in  society  ever  thought  of  bringing  his  children 
to  church  to  be  baptised,  and,  of  course,  many  of 
the  humbler  classes  followed  their  example.  This 
made  my  work  often  very  heavy,  from  the  frequent 
paucity  of  ministers  in  this  neighbourhood.  But 
now,  without  any  exhortation  on  my  part,  though  I 
never  concealed  my  opinion,  the  fashion  is  quite  the 
other  way.  I  am  never  asked  to  baptise  children  in 
private.  What  can  be  the  cause  of  this  change  ? 

"  2.  Marriage.  —  Here  I  would  remark,  in  pass- 
ing, that  which  I  quite  share  with  you,  in  rendering 
the  tribute  of  gratitude  that  is  due  to  Mr.  Chambers 
for  his  c  Domestic  Annals,'  and  other  works.  I  have 
sometimes  thought,  however,  that  he  too  exclusively 
lays  to  the  door  of  the  Presbyterian  party  those  en- 
actments which  he  has  a  right  to  think  unduly  severe. 


Scottish   Life    8f    Character.          22$ 

I  can  have  no  doubt  that  the  honest  Prelatists  fully 
sympathised  with  what  was  done  by  the  Presbyterian 
brethren.  In  fact,  '  penny  weddings,'  and  '  lyke- 
wakes,'  and  other  revelries,  were  as  offensive  to  the 
pious  portion  of  them  as  they  could  be  to  the  kindred 
and  friends-  who  differed  from  them  in  matters  of  ec- 
clesiastical polity.  After  the  Revolution,  till,  I  think, 
about  1740,  there  was  a  rule  that  any  man  who  in- 
timated a  purpose  of  marriage  should  deposit  with  the 
session  a  certain  sum  —  I  forget  the  amount  —  be- 
fore the  marriage  was  solemnized.  This  was  called 
in  Carmunnock  the  c  consignation  money  ; '  in  Logic, 
'the  pawn.'  If  there  had  been  any  too  intimate  an- 
tecedent connection  between  the  contracting  parties, 
c  the  pawn  J  was  forfeited  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor ; 
if  otherwise,  the  husband  came  to  the  kirk-session 
and  claimed  it.  Thus  long  did  a  rule  or  law  keep 
its  place,  which  was  established  shortly  after  the  Ref- 
ormation. It  is  easy  for  us  to  say  now,  that  moral 
influence  should  have  'been  used,  and  not  money 
exacted  in  such  a  case,  but  I  daresay  the  good  men 
in  those  sad  times  did  not  know  how  to  make  the, 
people  understand  the  difference  between  right  and 
wrong.  The  c  penny  .weddings  '  were,  under  the 
colour  of  kindness  to  the  young  married  persons, 
little  else  than  an  apology  for  scenes  of  riot  and 
debauchery.  They  cannot  be  excused,  as  they  were 
in  the  old  times  ;  and  unless  they  had  been  frowned 
on  by  the  Church,  they  would  have  been  lasting  in- 
lets to  sin  and  profanity.  There  still  are  occasionally- 


10* 


226  Reminiscences  of 

in  the  country  *  pay  weddings,'  but  the  change  of 
name  indicates,  what  is  the  fact,  that  these  are  very 
sober  affairs. 

"  It  may  seem  strange  to  say  that  during  a  minis- 
try of  nearly  forty-five  years  I  have  had  little  trouble 
with  what  we  call  *  irregular  marriages,'  that  is,  mar- 
riages not  celebrated  according  to  ecclesiastical  law. 
In  one  case,  the  parties  had  declared  their  marriage 
before  a  magistrate ;  in  the  other,  they  came  to  us 
(the  kirk-session)  to  own  their  union.  In  the  latter 
instance  we  made  them  sign  a  declaration  that  they 
were  man  and  wife.  Both  parties  were  rebuked  for 
having  entered  so  rashly  into  married  life.  Lord 
Braxfield  used  to  say  that '  there  was  nae  part  of  the 
law  of  Scotland  that  needed  mair  to  be  made  out  o* 
hale  claith  than  the  law  o*  marriage.*  I  have  no 
doubt  he  was  right  j  but  it  is  satisfactory  to  know 
that,  loose  as  our  marriage  law  is,  any  irregularity  on 
that  head  is  always  counted  as  discreditable. 

"3.  Deaths  and  Funerals'.  —  You  are  aware  that 
after  a  death,  the  old  usage  was  to  watch  the  body 
•till  the  funeral.  The  lykewake  must  have  had  a 
superstitious  origin,  but  be  that  as  it  may,  it  was 
connected  with  much  profligacy  and  licentiousness. 
I  remember  being  told  by  a  servant,  when  very 
young,  of  the  fun,  and  racketing,  and  mischief  of 
every  kind,  that  took  place  at  the  wakes  in  her  early 
days.  They  were  often  and  earnestly  condemned 
by  the  Church  ;  and  as  I  never  heard  of  them  in 
any  district  with  which  I  have  been  connected,  I 


Scottish   Life   4-   Character.  227 

thought  they  had  entirely  disappeared.  But  Dr. 
Chalmers  told  me  that  they  still  lingered  in  Fife  at 
the  time  he  left  it,  and  mentioned,  among  other 
things,  a  feat  performed  by  a  young  woman  at  a 
wake,  shortly  before  his  removal  from  Kilmany,  of  a 
most  revolting  character. 

u  In  Hamilton,  in  my  early  days,  the  mode  of  inti- 
mating a  death,  and  of  inviting  to  the  funeral,  was  this 
—  The  town-crier  left  the  house  of  mourning,  and, 
after  ringing  his  bell  at  various  stages,  uttered  the 
following  words :  c  Brethren  and  sisters,  I  let  you  to 

wit,  that ,  whause  corpse  lies  at  , 

departed  this  life  (then  off  with  his  hat),  by  the  will 
of  the  Almighty  (on  such  a  day  and  hour).  You 
are  desired  to  attend  his  (or  her)  burial  at  next  warn- 
ing.' Having  thus  perambulated  the  town,  he  re- 
turned to  the  house,  from  which,  after  a  reasonable 
time,  he  re-issued  to  ring  his  warning  bell.  The 
attendance  at  the  funeral  was  thus  made  to  depend 
on  the  respect  in  which  the  individual  was  held  when 
alive. 

cc  The  appearance  and  dress  of  attendants  at  fun- 
erals shews  a  decided  improvement  in  the  circum- 
stances of  the  working  classes  in  our  days.  The 
manse  of  Dalzell,  where  I  was  born,  stood  beside  the 
church-yard,  and  I  used  to  remark,  in  those  days, 
that  at  the  funerals  very  few  of  the  attendants  had 
other  than  coloured  apparel.  I  have  no  doubt  that, 
in  many  cases,  the  nearest  kindred  had  borrowed  the 
mourning  dress  they  wore. 


228  Reminiscences    of 

"  I  never  myself  witnessed  any  excess  at  funerals, 
but  that  is  all  I  can  say.  Our  Scots  chronicles  tell 
a  sad  and  a  true  story  on  this  head  for  earlier  days. 
But  it  is  well  we  are  mending,  and  that  I,  for  one, 
can  say  that  I  leave  the  world  in  a  better  state  than 
that  in  which  I  found  it. 

"  I  must  now  tell  you  something  of  the  Beggars 
of  my  early  years.  What  a  different  sort  of  people 
from  the  class  (if  they  deserve  the  name)  we  now 
have  among  us  !  The  older  beggars  were  stately 
and  self-possessed,  and  if  not  always  sober,  they 
were  ever  a  civil  race.  They  were  neither  c  Tbig- 
gers^  nor  sorners,  nor  masterful  beggars.'  They  got 
what  was  reasonable,  and  went  on  their  way.  I 
have  before  me  the  image  of  Jamie  Templeton,  and 
am  saved  the  trouble  of  describing  his  person,  for 
he  was  just  another  Edie  Ochiltree.  No  sooner  did 
he  arrive  at  the  manse  (Dalzell)  than  he  told  the 
servant  to  inform  her  mistress  that  he  was  in  the  hall. 
Immediately  an  audience  was  granted,  and  a  wel- 
come given,  and  the  gridiron  was  set  on  the  fire  to 
dress  something  nice.  Meanwhile,  he  sat  as  an 
independent  gentleman,  jeering  and  bantering  the 
servant  who  was  cooking  for  his  behoof.  To  the 
lady  of  the  house  he  was  always  respectful  ;  for 
he  knew  his  place  as  well  as  others  of  his  class. 
At  the  same  time  he  was  frank  in  telling  his 
mind.  For  instance,  c  I  have  just  been  in  the  big 
house  (Dalzell  House),  mem,  and  got  a  glass  of 
whisky  ;  I  would  rather  it  had  been  wine.*  c  Wine  ! 


Scottish    Life    fy    Character.          229 

Jamie,  it's  enough  to  put  wine  out  of  fashion  when 
the  like  of  you  speaks  of  it.'  '  Mem,  I  could 
take  a  bottle  of  wine  every  day.'  But  Jamie  was 
quite  satisfied  with  his  glass  of  beer  at  the  manse. 

"  Another  of  the  same  class  made  no  secret  of 
his  relish  for  strong  drink.  For  diversion's  sake  he 
was  once  asked,  '  John,  can  ye  take  a  full  glass  of 
whisky  ? '  Answer,  c  Toot !  a  glass  of  whisky  is 
to  me  just  ,like  a  flea  in  a  coal  pit. ' 

"  There  was  at  one  time  a  colony  of  Gipsies  in 
Minstry  (parish  of  Logic),  but  the  race  was  rapidly 
disappearing  when  we  came  to  live  in  it.  The 
truth  is  that  they  were  prosecuted,  or  what  they 
no  doubt  thought,  persecuted,  till  they  left  the  place. 
These  were  not  of  the  pure  begging  type,  and  had 
not  the  uprightness  of  the  proper  breed.  They 
had  a  plurality  of  vocations,  tinkering,  begging, 
stealing,  coining,  or  uttering  of  base  coin,  palmestry, 
etc.  They  were  no  doubt  pests  in  their  day.  When 
they  took  a  grudge  at  any  family,  it  fared  ill  with 
that  house  ;  yet  they  were  tolerated.  I  believe  the 
people  were  amused  with  them  ;  and  I  have  heard 
the  country  folks  tell  with  great  glee,  the  daring 
tricks  of  Nanny  Bilson,  an  amazon  of  her  clan. 
But  neither  Nanny,  nor  any  of  her  kindred,  ever 
thought  of  plying  all  the  branches  of  their  calling 
without  reserve  or  exception.  For  instance,  I 
never  heard  of  their  cheating  the  minister^  or  steal- 
ing from  him.  I  think  there  was  a  touch  of  super- 
stition tl  at  kept-  them  from  all  that.  To  him  they 


230  Reminiscences   of 

came  as  beggars,  having  a  kind  of  authority.  For 
instance,  Nanny  met  my  father,  and  thus  greeted 
him.  '  O  sir,  I  was  in  Logic  kirk  the  day  you 
were  baptized,  and  I  was  in  Logic  kirk  the  day 
you  were  placed,  and  1  must  have  a  shilling  from 
you.'  The  argument  was  irresistible. 

"  I  remember  an  old  woman  of  the  tribe  coming 
to  a  manse  on  the  Monday  after  the  Communion, 
which  you  know  is  a  sort  of  Easter  among  us.  I 
was  young,  and  was  anxious  to  see  the  issue  of  her 
visit,  being  gifted  with  an  undue  amount  of  curios- 
ity, as  may  well  be  said.  She  coolly  took  her  seat 
in  the  kitchen,  and  ordered  the  servant  to  bring  her 
dinner.  The  servant  indignantly  refused.  With- 
out saying  more,  the  bold  wife  took  the  heavy  cud- 
gel she  held  in  her  hand,  and  gave  three  alarming 
knocks  on  the  floor.  Enter  the  other  servant  in 
a  flurry  ;  *  What's  wrong  ? '  —  '  What's  wrong  ? 
go  and  tell  your  mistress  that  Jenny  Robertson  is 
here,  and  wants  her  dinner.'  The  dinner  was  soon 
forthcoming,  and  when  that  was  disposed  of,  an- 
other demand  came  from  head  quarters — CI  want 
a  dram.'  Cook,  still  more  indignant  than  before, 
c  A  dram  !  you'll  not  get  a  dram,  though  it  were 
to  save  you  from  choking.'  No  answer,  but  a 
double  dose  of  ominous  knocks  on  the  floor.  Again 
enters  Christie,  pro  secundo.  c  Tell  your  mistress, 
dame,  that  Jenny  Robertson  wants  a  dram.'  Dram 
sent,  and  exit  Jenny  in  triumph,  after  simply  telling 
the  cook,  '  A'  the  parish  kens  Jenny  Robertson.' 


Scottish  Life  8f  Character.  231 

"  I  cannot  leave  the  matter  of  the  Gipsies,  into 
which  I  have  been  insensibly  beguiled,  without  re- 
cording an  anecdote  told  me  by  my  father  regard- 
ing them.  In  this  case  a  shoe  merchant  had  gone 
to  a  Kippen  fair  to  dispose  of  his  wares.  He  was 
soon  accosted  by  a  man,  who  told  him  that  if  he 
would  follow  him,  he  would  take  him  to  a  place 
where  he  would  get  the  better  part,  if  not  the  whole 
of  his  shoes  disposed  of.  The  bait  took,  and  the 
worthy  man  soon  found  himself  in  a  company,  the 
character  of  which  was  obvious  to  him  at  first  sight. 
They  began  talking  in  a  gibberish,  not  one  word  of 
which  he  understood.  He  saw  his  case  was  all  but 
desperate,  but  being  something  of  a  pawky  Scot,  did 
not  altogether  lose  heart.  Watching  his- time,  he 
heard  one  of  his  strange  associates  utter  the  name 
c  MarshtsleS  Now  he  put  in  his  word,  by  mention- 
ing that  his  mother  was  c  a  Marshall.'  The  effect 
was  to  him  astounding.  A  debate  arose  ;  one  man 
took  the  lead.  At  first  he  was  calm  and  firm. 
Then  the  discussion  waxed  warmer  :  flashing  eyes, 
clenched  fists,  and  the  hard  sounds  of  angry  gibber- 
ish. Still  the  leader  kept  his  ground,  and  after  a 
time  gave  a  signal  to  the  shoe  merchant  to  follow 
him.  When  he  was  safely  out  of  the  house,  he  bade 
him  c  good  day  ; '  simply  adding  that  his  name  was 
'Marshall.'  " 

"You  must  forgive  me  for  this  melange  —  I  began 
this  portion  without  '  heads,'  and  a  Scotch  minister 
who  does  that  is  very  apt  to  get  into  confusion.  So, 


232  Reminiscences  of 

without  farther  apology  for  abruptness,  I  must  now 
say  something  of  old  servants.  Alas  !  the  race  is 
nearly  extinct.  I  know,  indeed,  of  one  who  still 
speaks  of  c  our  house,  our  horses,  and  our  property,' 
but  he  is  a  rare  plant.  There  is  no  longer  what  you 
have  already  so  graphically  described  as  the  result  of 
long  service  and  mutual  confidence.  Here  are  some 
specimens  which  I  had  from  Lady  Stuart. 

"  Colonel  Erskine,  the  father  of  the  celebrated 
lawyer,  and  the  grandfather  of  Dr.  John  Erskine  of 
this  city,  no  less  celebrated  as  a  divine,  was  quite  a 
character  in  his  day.  You  have  rather  a  racy  anec- 
dote of  him  in  Sir  Henry  MoncreifFs  c  Life  of  Dr. 
J.  Erskine.' l  He  had  an  old  servant  of  the  true 

1  The  anecdote  referred  to  by  Dr.  Clason,  illustrative  of 
Colonel  Erskine's  choleric  disposition,  will  be  found  at  p.  488 
of  Sir  H.  MoncreifF's  "  Life  of  his  Grandson,  Dr.  Erskine." 
The  Colonel,  during  the  last  ten  or  twelve  years  of  his  life, 
suffered  from  asthma,  the  attacks  of  which  he  bore  with  great 
impatience.  When  suffering  from  his  complaint  the  magistrates 
of  Culross,  where  he  resided,  were  burning  kelp  on  the  shore 
immediately  below  his  residence.  Imagining  that  his  com- 
plaint was  irritated  by  the  smoke  of  the  kelp;  he  sent  peremp- 
tory orders  to  put  out  the  fires.  The  magistrates  were  not  dis- 
posed to  submit.  Too  much  provoked  to  consider  either  their 
rights  or  his  own,  he  resolved  to  extinguish  the  fires  with  his  own 
hand.  Unable  to  walk,  he  mounted  his  horse,  and  made  his 
grandson  (the  subject  of  this  narrative,  who  was  then  at  his  house, 
a  youth  about  the  age  of  fourteen)  march  before  him  along  the 
steep  descent  of  the  street  of  Culross,  with  his  grandfather's 
sword  drawn  in  his  hand  —  a  circumstance  which,  to  those  who 
were  afterwards  acquainted  with  the  venerable  figure  of  Dr. 


Scottish   Life    fy   Character.          233 

caste.  On  one  occasion  he  had  done  something  that 
very  much  displeased  his  master.  The  Colonel's 
wrath  became  quite  uncontrollable,  his  utterance  was 
choked,  and  his  countenance  became  pale  as  death. 
The  servant  grew  somewhat  uneasy,  and  at  last 
said,  c  Eh  !  sir,  maybe  an  aith  would  relieve  you.' 

"  By  the  bye,  Lady  Stuart  told  me  an  anecdote 
of  the  early  life  of  Dr.  Erskine,  which  is  worthy 
of  being  recorded,  among  lighter  things.  His  aunt 
was  the  second  wife  of  the  lawyer,  but  not  the 
mother  of  the  Doctor.  She  observed  that  every 
morning  the  young  boy  came  into  her  dressing 
room,  and  went  into  a  closet  in  which  sweetmeats 
were  kept.  Naturally  enough  her  thought  was 
that  he  came  to  pick  up  any  thing  palatable  that 
he  could  find ;  but  his  visits  were  so  regular,  and 
he  made  so  little  noise,  that  her  wonder  was,  what 

Erskine,  must  present  a  very  singular  picture.  The  magis- 
trates, not  willing  to  acquiesce  in  the  Colonel's  encroachment 
on  their  privileges,  assembled  their  retainers,  and  fairly  took 
him  and  his  grandson  prisoners.  His  passion  had  soon  suffi- 
ciently subsided  to  enable  him  to  address  the  magistrates  in  the 
following  terms: — "This  is  all  nonsense,  gentlemen,  and  we 
are  all  in  the  wrong;  come  along  to  the  inn,  and  we  shall  all 
dine  together  and  forget  this  folly."  They  accompanied  him 
without  hesitation.  He  treated  them  with  the  best  dinner  the 
inn  afforded,  and  the  afternoon  was  spent  in  perfect  good  hu- 
mour and  cordiality.  On  this  occasion  the  irritability  of  his 
temper  brought  him  into  a  situation  sufficiently  ridiculous ;  b,ut 
as  soon  as  the  opposition  which  he  met  with  gave  fair  play  to 
his  understanding,  his  passion,  as  usual,  subsided  as  quickly  as 
it  had  risen. 


234  Reminiscences    of 

he  could  be  about.  She  looked  in  one  morning 
and  found  him  on  his  knees,  in  close  communion 
with  God  ! 

"  Sir  Michael  S.  Stuart  (the  c  Sir  Michael'  of 
his  day,  and  I  suppose  the  great-grandfather  of  the 
present  public-spirited  baronet  of  the  same  name) 
had  an  old  servant  who  had  spent  his  life  in  his 
house.  Peter  was  faithful,  and  I  believe  religious. 
When  he  was  seized  with  his  last  illness,  he  sent 
for  his  master  to  tell  him  he  was  dying.  c  Well, 
Peter,  I  am  sure  you  are  not  afraid  to  die.  You 
have  been  a  faithful  servant,  and  in  every  respect 
good.'  The  answer  was  — c  Ah,  Sir  Michael,  it's 
little  ye  ken.  There  are  mony  whaups  in  the  raip 
in  sinty  (seventy)  lang  years,  and  the  warst  o't  a' 
is  that  we  forget  them  —  forget  our  sins,  but  (point- 
ing to  the  heavens)  they  are  a'  marked  down  yon- 
der, Sir  Michael.' 

cc  By  the  .time  I  came  to  the  parish,  most  of  the 
old  servants  at  Castlemilk  were  gone,  but  there 
were  some  note-worthy  in  my  younger  days.  Saun- 
ders  Denholm  had  been  servant,  I  believe,  all  his 
days  in  the  house.  He  used  to  boast  that  but  for 
the  Bar  Sinister  that  was  on  his  shield,  he  would 
have  been  laird  of  Coltness.  Nevertheless,  he 
counted  not  a  little  on  his  pedigree,  and  was  quite 
the  major-domo.  Like  others,  he  had  his  favour- 
ites, and  took  care  to  tell  them  when  there  was 
anything  good  in  the  house.  If  a  glass  of  water 
was  asked  for,  the  significant  hint  was  given,  c  we 
have  famous  beer  just  now.' 


Scottish    Life    8f    Character.          235 

"  Saunders,  however,  had  his  failing  —  the  Scotch 
failing — and  when  he  was  in  his  cups  was  sure  to 
quarrel  with  Lady  Stuart.  He  gave  up  his  place, 
and  was  going  immediately  c  to  Kilbride.'  No  mor- 
tal could  ever  tell  why  he  fixed  on  that  place  as  his 
future  residence,  for  he  had  been  in  no  way  connec- 
ted with  it  through  life.  c  I'm  awa'  to  Kilbride, 
my  lady.'  c  Very  well,  be  quick.'  '  I'm  awa'  to 
Kilbride.'  '  Ou,  are  ye  no  awa'  yet?'  The  door 
opens  for  the  third  time  — c  Noo  mind,  it's  a*  your 
wyte.J  c  Ou  ay,  it's  a'  my  wyte.'  The  tears  of 
penitence  and  humble  confession  came  in  the  morn- 
ing. The  old  labourers  about  the  place  would  have 
been  denied  the  privilege  of  the  entre  by  the  domes- 
tics, but,  happily  for  them,  there  was  a  back  stair 
that  lent  its  influence  in  their  favour.  A  gentle 
tap  is  heard  at  the  side  door,  and,  with  permission, 
enters  Willie  Shearer.  — c  Ou,  my  lady,  I've  just 
come  to  speir  for  you,  as  I  heard  that  you  had  been 
ailing.'  Willie  gets  a  kind  word  and  a  dram.  But 
I  need  not  say  more  on  this  head.  The  gentry  of 
the  former  generation  lived  so  much  at  home,  and 
in  the  midst  of  their  people,  that  if  you  describe 
one  of  the  genuine  school  you  have  the  whole. 

cc  I  must  say  very  little  of  the  beadles  (betherals), 
for  I  have  the  fear  of  your  critics  before  me.  It  is 
quite  true  that  '  cadgers  maun  aye  be  crackin'  o' 
crusts,'  but  I  have  really  very  little  to  say  of  these 
worthies. 

"  From  what   I  observed  after  our  settlement  at 


236  Reminiscences  of 

Logic,  it  appeared  that  the  beadle  had  civil  as  well 
as  ecclesiastical  duties  assigned  to  him  in  old  times. 
For  instance,  at  the  close  of  the  morning  service,  Da- 
vid White  stands  at  the  top  of  the  bell-loft  stair,  and 
intimates  to  the  following  effect :  — c  Notice  !  Ony 
person  gruppit 1  shearing  gerse  up  and  down  Sir  Rob- 
ert's parks  (Sir  R.  Abercromby's),  will  be  poonished 
as  far  as  laa'  will  alloo.7  Such  intimations  were  often 
made.  At  another  place  of  worship  I  heard  two 
thundering  'notices/  The  second  was,  'Also  some 
of  ye  brack  the  leg  o'  a  sheep  yesterday  on  the  Blair 
Hill.  If  ony  o'  ye  will  tell  me  wha  did  it,  he  will 
be  handsomely  rewarded.'  I  have  no  doubt  that 
roups  were  often  advertised  in  the  same  way  at  an 
earlier  period  ;  for  pretty  long  on  in  last  century,  a 
market,  or  little  fair,  was  held  at  Tullibody  after 
church  hours  every  Lord's  day. 

"  The  above-named  '  David  '  was  succeeded  by  a 
man  who  needed  no  civil  power  to  bolster  up  his  dig- 
nity. He  was  another  P.  P.  His  duty,  he  seemed 
to  think,  was  to  rule  in  all  things  ecclesiastical. 
Once  installed,  he  got  a  long  pole  to  poke  up  the 
sleepers,  he  rebuked  any  stranger  minister  who  was 
late,  and  at  last  he  intimated  his  resignation  of  office, 
on  the  ground  that  '  they  had  not  enough  of  work 
for  him.'  He  was  grave-digger  !  To  his  utter  amaze- 
ment his  resignation  was  immediately  and  indignant- 
ly accepted.  Poor  man !  it  was  a  mistake.  He  meant 
what  he  did  as  a  first  step  in  a  process  of  augmenta- 
1  Detected. 


Scottish   Life    8f   Character.  237 

tion,  but  was  very  unfortunate  in  the  choice  of  his 
counsel. 

"  Positively  only  one  more  beadle  anecdote.  The 
officer  who  exercised  this  calling  at  Falkirk  was  a 
character  in  his  day.  In  the  town  there  lived  a  very 
notorious  infidel,  who  gloried  in  profanity.  On  one 
occasion  he  was  denouncing  the  absurdity  of  the 
doctrine  of  original  sin.  The  betheral  thought  him- 
self officially  bound  to  put  in  his  word,  although  the 
other  was  his  superior.  '  Mr.  H.,  it  seems  to  me 
that  you  needna  fash  yoursel'  about  original  sin,  for 
to  my  certain  knowledge  you  have  as  much  akwal 
(actual)  sin  as  will  do  your  business.' 1 

"I  am  much  inclined,  as  I  have  pen  in  hand,  to 
invite  the  attention  of  your  correspondents  to  the 
dearth  of  which  I  have  a  recollection  as  taking  place 
at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  My  remin- 
iscences of  that  visitation  are  necessarily  very  slen- 
der. We  were  at  that  time  living  in  a  secluded  manse 
on  the  banks  of  the  Clyde.  Our  intercourse  with 
the  neighbouring  villages  was  as  nothing.  We  were 
young  and  thoughtless,  but  we  could  not  fail  to  be 
affected  by  the  deep  seriousness  of  our  parents  at  that 
solemn  time.  It  was  not  the  clamorous  poor  that  suf- 
fered, it  was  the  higher  class,  that  seek  their  subsist- 

1  To  this  anecdote  of  good  Dr.  Clason's  I  feel  disposed  to 
add  the  remark,  that  I  -think  it  would  be  difficult  to  give  an 
example  of  a  more  telling  personal  argument  in  a  theological 
controversy. 

E.  B.  R. 


238  Reminiscences    of 

ence  by  their  own  exertions.  I  remember  hearing, 
or  rather  overhearing,  of  a  case  of  this  kind.  A  very 
active  and  industrious  woman  shewed  symptoms  of 
being  in  want.  Her  neighbours  saw  want  in  her 
face  ;  they  watched  her,  and  she  was  only  detected 
when  she  was  found  gathering  docks  and  such  gar- 
bage on  the  roadside  to  boil  for  her  sustenance.  She 
was  challenged,  and  confessed  that  she  had  not  tasted 
anything  for  two  days.  I  make  no  reflection.  "Tis 
sixty  years  ago,'  and  yet  my  heart  swells  in  the  re- 
membrance of  this  incident. 

'  Scotland,  with  all  thy  faults,  I  love  thee  still.' 

My  mother  told  me  afterwards  that  there  were  many 
whose  constitutions  never  recovered  the  shock  they 
suffered  during  these  dreadful  years.  It  was  God's 
rebuke.  The  year  1801  brought  peace  and  a. singu- 
larly plentiful  harvest,  and  then  the  land  sung  c  of 
mercy  and  judgment.'  Older  men-  will  be  able  to 
give  you  far  more  ample  and  instructive  materials  on 
this  matter,  and  I  would  willingly  invite  them  to  do 
so. 

"The  disgusting  details  of  the  boxing  match  which 
lately  took  place  between  Sayers  and  Heenan  have 
recalled  some  Scottish  and  local  reminiscences  of 
bygone  scenes  connected  with  pugilistic  encounters, 
in  which,  I  need  hardly  say,  I  had  no  personal  con- 
cern. 

"  Boxing  matches  were  dying  out  when  I  entered 
into  life.  I  remember  two  men  between  whom  there 


Scottish   Life   4*   Character.          239 

was  a  bitter  feud,  and  it  was  a  certain  and  settled 
thing  that  if  they  met  each  other  at  fair  or  market, 
there  must  be  a  battle.  We  now  live  in  more  peace- 
ful times.  But  it  was  not  so  in  former  days,  say  from 
the  beginning  till  the  middle  of  last  century.  Then 
at  fairs  there  were  not  only  invitations  to  individual 
conflict,  but  the  youth  of  adjoining  parishes  chal- 
lenged each  other  to  a  battle  with  cudgels  or  fists. 

"Thus  Logic  was  called  out  — 

«  Hey  the  gutters,  and  how  the  gutters,  and  hey  the  gutters 
o'  Logic.' 

This  was  a  reproachful  allusion  to  the  miry  roads  and 
clayey  soil  of  the  parish,  as  if  to  insinuate  that  the 
people  were  as  soft  as  the  soil  they  daily  trode  on. 

"  Douglas,  Duke  of  Hamilton,  who  died  about 
the  close  of  last  century,  was  a  great  patron  of  pugil- 
ism, and  took  pains  for  instructing  the  young  men  in 
Hamilton  in  the  art,  if  so  disposed.  But  he  soon 
found  that  there  was  no  need  of  any  patronage  of  his 
to  promote  that  branch  of  science.  He  brought 
down  from  London,  Mendoza,  a  celebrated  bruiser 
of  his  day,  who  challenged  any  one  in  the  county 
to  the  conflict.  The  challenge  was  accepted  by  a 
young  tenant  of  his  Grace's,  James  Bocham  (Beau- 
champ  (?),  of  course)  of  Clydesmill.  At  the  first  on- 
slaught, James  knocked  in  all  his  antagonist's  guards, 
broke  two  of  his  ribs,  and  having  thus  summarily  set- 
tled the  matter,  he  turned  to  the  Duke  and  asked, 
4  Has  your  Grace  ony  mair  o'  thae  Mendoza  bodies.' 

"  I  scarcely  know  what  place  to  assign  to  the  fol 


240  Reminiscences   of 

lowing,  as  it  would  not  come  in  among  c  anecdotes 
of  old  servants.'  A  notable  lady  (of  Edinburgh  I 
suppose),  had  long  been  annoyed  and  fretted  by  her 
town  servants,  and  being  no  longer  able  to  bear 
their  manifold  tricks  and  malpractices,  she  intimated 
to  her  friends  her  purpose  of  getting  an  unsophis- 
ticated girl  from  the  country,  whom  she  could  train 
to  her  mind.  And  she  was  fortunate  enough  in 
securing  a  young  woman  from  a  remote  corner  of 
the  land,  thoroughly  recommended  for  activity,  hon- 
esty, and  good  nature.  How  the  process  of  train- 
ing went  on,  you  may  judge  from  the  following 
specimen.  The  girl  having  seen  something  very 
wonderful  going  on  in  the  street,  in  a  tone  of  un- 
sophisticated familiarity,  called  to  her  mistress.  {Eh  ! 
woman,  come  here  and  see  this.'  '  Woman  !  do 
you  presume  to  call  me  woman  ?  '  c  Ay  —  if  ye're 
no  a  woman,  what  are  ye?  Are  ye  a  Speerit?'* 

u  In  taking  a  retrospect  of  the  habits  of  the 
Scottish  people,,  say  sixty  years  ago,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  overlook  the  noxious  influence  that  smug- 
glers and  smuggling  had  in  the  way  of  promoting 
intemperance  and  kindred  evils.  I  can  speak  of 
this  with  some  confidence,  because  the  parish  of 
Logic,  to  which  allusion  has  so  often  been  made, 
was  one  of  the  highways  between  the  Highlands 
and  Lowlands  on  which  the  illicit  trade  was  car- 
ried on.  A  smuggler  who  was  a  total  abstainer 
was  never  heard  of,  but  much  was  said  to  the  con- 
trary of  the  men  as  a  class.  They  sought  and  won 


Scottish    Life    fy   Character.          241 

the  favour  and  co-operation  of  the  people  to  an  in- 
credible extent  by  the  free  distribution  of  whisky, 
and  by  their  bold,  adventurous  character.  To  this 
we  must  add  that,  owing  to  the  very  impolitic  ex- 
pise  laws  by  which  the  licensed  distilleries  were 
then  regulated,  the  spirits  they  dealt  in  were  so 
superior  that  the  very  great  majority  of  the  parish- 
ioners, it  is  believed,  gave  them  encouragement  by 
purchasing  in  some  way  or  other  their  contraband 
goods.  There  were,  however,  a  few  who,  on  con- 
scientious grounds,  gave  them  no  countenance  of 
any  kind,  and  there  were  good  reasons  for  this.  Ir- 
respective altogether  of  their  calling,  they  were  a 
lawless  race.  They  were  bad  grammarians,  for 
they  had  little  understanding  of  the  difference  be- 
tween c  meum  and  tuum.'  Attendance  on  public 
worship  they  could  not  give,  for  the  Lord's  day 
was  the  time  of  their  most  active  work,  and  you 
can  easily  understand  the  results  of  bold  irreligion. 
They  were  men  of  violence,  and  if  not  of  blood 
in  the  strict  sense,  there  is  reason  to  apprehend 
that  they  were  only  kept  from  that  by  fear  of  the 
consequences.  I  have  said  that  they  had  to  a  large 
extent  the  popular  favour,  and  I  could  point  out  a 
village  where  an  exciseman  who  had  arrested  a 
smuggler  was  so  beset  by  the  women  of  the  place 
that  he  was  with  difficulty  rescued  out  of  their 
hands  by  the  smuggler  himself.  I  have  only  glanced 
at  a  strange  chapter  of  history,  leaving  this  and 
many  other  things  to  be  enlarged  on  by  other  cor- 


242  Reminiscences   of 

respondents.  It  is  a  strange  thing  that  the  eyes  of 
the  Legislature  were  never  opened  till  the  smugglers 
waxed  so  bold  as  to  form  themselves  into  armed 
bands  of  twenty  or  thirty,  carrying  on  their  calling 
in  the  light  of  day.  Then  it  was  that  they  lost  all 
favour  with  the  people,  and  soon  the  remedy. was 
applied  that  rooted  out  smuggling  from  the  parish 
arid  district. 

"  The  demolition  of  the  old  church  of  Dalzell  has 
already  been  alluded  to,  as  indicating  the  ruthless  dis- 
regard of  ancient  architectural  remains  that  prevailed 
in  our  own  early  days.  The  like  charge  cannot  be 
brought  against  the  landowners  of  Logic.  The 
church  was  old,  and  had  become  ruinous ;  it  had 
never  been  an  elegant  structure,  but  its  position  was 
exquisitely  beautiful,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that 
the  eastern  window  was  not  preserved  when  the 
main  part  of  the  fabric  was  demolished,  not  that 
there  was  anything  worth  notice  in  its  tracery,  but 
for  reasons  that  will  readily  occur  to  any  one  who 
has  been  on  the  ground.  We  are  in  our  day  rather 
too  fond  of  heaping  reproaches  on  Knox  and  his  fol- 
lowers, as  if  they  alone  were  chargeable  with  the 
crime  of  demolishing  cathedrals  and  monasteries,  and 
as  if  they  had  spent  their  whole  days  and  strength  in 
nought  but  this  atrocious  work.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  the  world  will 
cease  to  give  implicit  faith  to  such  really  unfair  rep- 
resentations. For  instance,  every  one  must  regret 
the  ruinous  state  of  Dunblane  Cathedral,  and  I  at 


Scottish    Life    4"    Character.  243 

one  time  held  the  antiquarian  creed  that  this  was  to 
be  ascribed  to  the  fire  and  fury  of  the  Reformation. 
A  former  minister  of  the  parish  —  a  man  intelligent, 
and  in  every  respect  trustworthy,  and  connected  with 
the  place  by  hereditary  ties  —  assured  me  that  its 
dilapidated  state  was  due  to  Montrose  and  his  army, 
who  had  unroofed  the  fabric  for  the  sake  of  the  lead 
and  timber. 

"  I  would  add  here  a  curious  reminiscence  of  cler- 
ical peculiarity.  In  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century  an  old  minister  died,  who  had  been  for 
nearly  forty  years  incumbent  of  the  parish  of  Logic. 
Many  anecdotes  have  been  told  of  his  oddities  and 
eccentricities,  but  considerations  of  a  personal  na- 
ture, of  which  you  are  aware,  would  have  prevented 
me  from  recording  any  of  them,  even  if  it  were  con- 
sistent with  the  theory  I  have  formed  of  the  object 
of  your  work  that  I  should  do  so.  There  can,  how- 
ever, be  no  impropriety  in  stating  that  he  was  a  firm 
believer  in  witchcraft,  that  he  was  wont  to  tell  his 
congregation  of  his  controversies  with  the  Evil  One, 
of  their  frequent  dialogues,  detailing  the  substance  of 
them.  He  used  to  describe  the  various  orders  and 
descriptions  of  evil  spirits  that  haunted  the  rocks  ad- 
jacent to  the  church.  His  belief  in  these  things  was 
so  firm,  that  though  unquestionably  a  pious  man, 
they  often  gave  him  great  distress, 

"  Any  one  who  can  look  back  on  the  state  of 
things  as  they  were  sixty  years  ago  cannot  but  con- 
gratulate himself  on  the  happy  change  with  respect 


244  Reminiscences    of 

to  intemperance  which  has  taken  place  in  our  day 
among  our  countrymen.  Of  this  Lord  Cockburn 
has  given  us  striking  illustrations.  A  host  would, 
I  suppose,  now  feel  somewhat  affronted  if  any  of 
his  guests  would  shew  symptoms  of  excess.  How 
different  from  the  old  times,  when  such  excesses 
were  honoured,  and  considered'a  proof  and  mark  of 
hospitality.  Too  often,  alas  !  the  father  compelled 
his  son,  perhaps  a  boy  of  seventeen  or  eighteen,  to 
drink,  to  drink  '  fair,'  or  else  incur  the  penalty  of 
leaving  the  company.  Nay,  at  every  party  there 
was  a  risk  of  individuals  being  present  who  had  a 
plot  on  some  unsuspecting  victim.  The  practice 
of  toasts,  no  doubt,  aided  such  unworthy  designs.  It 
could  tend  to  no  good,  perhaps  the  reverse,  to  record 
the  many  anecdotes  that  have  been  told  in  connec- 
tion with  these  scenes  of  revelry.  But  something 
remains  yet  to  be  told  of  the  injurious  influence,  in 
this  particular,  of  encouraging  intemperance,  that 
the  higher  classes  exercised  over  their  humbler  neigh- 
bours. The  gentry  of  this  country  remained  much 
at  home  during  last  century,  their  houses  were  main- 
ly supplied  with  provisions  of  various  kinds  from 
their  own  tenantry  or  the  neighbourhood,  and  this 
led  to  frequent  adjournments  to  the  public-house  of 
the  village.  Then  they  were  not  over  nice  in  their 
amusements  ;  for  instance,  cock-fighting,  and  others 
even  less  creditable.  They  brought  together  multi- 
tudes of  heedless  and  worthless  persons,  who  ten- 
dered their  services  to  the  various  combatants,  and 


Scottish    Life    8f    Character.          245 

the  issue  of  the  conflict  ended  in  a  carousal,  in 
which,  in  a  bad  sense,  *  the  rich  and  the  poor  met 
together.'  We  must  not,  however,  deal  out  to  the 
old  warm-hearted  aristocracy  harder  measure  than 
they  deserved,  for  it  must  be  owned  that,  irrespec- 
tive of  influence  and  example  from  high  quarters, 
there  was  amongst  our  countrymen,  even  on  the  part 
of  those  who  were  not  themselves  addicted  in  any 
way  to  intemperance,  a  feeling  that  hard  drinking 
was  a  manly  attainment,  and,  at  any  rate,  a  disposi- 
tion to  regard  such  excesses  with  too  much  indul- 
gence. You  have  yourself  furnished  one  such  in- 
stance, and  many  more  might  be  added." 


A  correspondent  kindly  sends  me  from  Aberdeen- 
shire  a  humorous  story,  very  much  of  the  same  sort 
as  that  of  Colonel  Erskine's  servant,  who  consider- 
ately suggested  to  his  master  that  "  maybe  an  aith 
might  relieve  him,"  related  above,  (p.  233;)  by  Dr. 
Clason.  My  correspondent  heard  the  story  from  the 
late  Bishop  Skinner. 

It  was  among  the  experiences  of  his  father,  Bishop 
John  Skinner,  while  making  some  pastoral  visits  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  town  (Aberdeen),  the 
Bishop  took  occasion  to  step  into  the  cottage  of  two 
humble  parishioners,  a  man  and  his  wife,  who  culti- 
vated a  little  croft.  No  one  was  within  ;  but  as  the 
door  was  only  on  the  latch,  the  Bishop  knew  that  the 
worthy  couple  could  not  be  far  distant.  He  therefore 


246  Reminiscences  of 

stepped  in  the  direction  of  the  out-houses,  and  found 
them  both  in  the  barn  winnowing  corn,  in  the  prim- 
itive way,  with  "  riddles,"  betwixt  two  open  doors. 
On  the  Bishop  making  his  appearance,  the  honest 
man  surceased  his  winnowing  operations,  and  in  the 
gladness  of  his  heart  stepped  briskly  forward  to  wel- 
come his  pastor  i  but  in  his  haste  he  trod  upon  the  rim 
of  the  riddle,  which  rebounded  with  great  force  against 
one  of  his  shins.  The  accident  made  him  suddenly 
pull  up  ;  and,  instead  of  completing  the  reception,  he 
stood  vigorously  rubbing  the  injured  limb ;  and,  not 
daring  in  such  a  venerable  presence  to  give  vent  to 
the  customary  strong  ejaculations,  kept  twisting  his 
face  into  all  sorts  of  grimaces.  As  was  natural,  the 
Bishop  went  forward,  uttering  the  usual  formulas  of 
condolence  and  sympathy,  the  patient,  meanwhile, 
continuing  his  rubbings  and  his  silent  but  expressive 
contortions.  At  last  Janet  came  to  the  rescue ;  and, 
clapping  the  Bishop  coaxingly  on  the  back,  said, 
"  Noo,  Bishop,  jist  gang  ye  yir  waas  in  to  the  hoose, 
an*  we'll  follow  fan  he's  had  time  .to  curse  a  fyllie,  an' 
I'se  warran'  he'll  seen  be  weel  eneuch  !  " 

Now,  when  we  linger  over  these  old  stories,  we 
seem  to  live  at  another  period,  and  in  such  reminis- 
cences we  converse  with  a  generation  different  from 
our  own.  Changes  are  still  going  on  around  us. 
They  have  been  going  on  for  some  time  past.  The 
changes  are  less  striking  as  society  advances,  and  our 
later  years  have  less  and  less  alterations  to  remark. 
Probably  each  generation  will  have  fewer  changes  to 


Scottish    Life   Sf   Character.          247 

record  than  the  generation  that  preceded  ;  still  every 
one  who  is  tolerably  advanced  in  life  must  feel  that, 
comparing  its  beginning  and  its  close,  he  has  wit- 
nessed two  epochs,  and  that  he  looks  on  a  different 
world  from  one  which  he  can  remember.  To  eluci- 
date this  fact  has  been  my  present  object,  and  in  at- 
tempting this  task  I  cannot  but  feel  how  trifling  and 
unsatisfactory  my  remarks  must  seem  to  many  who 
have  a  more  enlarged  and  minute  acquaintance  with 
Scottish  life  and  manners  than  I  have.  But  I  shall 
be  encouraged  to  hope  for  a  favourable,  or  at  least  an 
indulgent  sentence  upon  these  Reminiscences,  if  to 
any  of  my  readers  I  shall  have  opened  a  fresh  insight 
into  the  subject  of  social  changes  amongst  us.  Many 
causes  have  their  effects  upon  the  habits  and  customs 
of  mankind,  and  of  late  years  such  causes  have  been 
greatly  multiplied  in  number  and  activity.  In  many 
persons,  and  in  some  who  have  not  altogether  lost 
their  national  partialities,  there  is  a  general  tendency 
to  merge  Scottish  usages  and  Scottish  expressions  into 
the  English  forms,  as  being  more  correct  and  genteel. 
The  facilities  for  moving,  not  merely  from  place  to 
place  in  our  own  country,  but  from  one  country  to 
another,  the  spread  of  knowledge  and  information 
by  means  of  periodical  publications  and  newspapers, 
and  the  incredibly  low  prices  at  which  literary  works 
are  produced,  must  have  great  effects.  Then  there 
is  the  improved  taste  in  art,  which,  together  with  . 
literature,  has  been  taken  up  by  young  men  who, 
fifty,  sixty,  seventy  years  ago,  or  more,  would  have 


248  Reminiscences  of 

known  no  such  sources  of  interest,  or,  indeed,  who 
would  have  looked  upon  them  as  unmanly  and 
effeminate.  When  first  these  pursuits  were  taken 
up  by  our  Scottish  young  men,  they  excited  in  the 
north  much  amazement,  and,  I  fear,  contempt,  as 
was  evinced  by  a  laird  of  the  old  school,  who,  the 
first  time  he  saw  a  young  man  at  the  pianoforte, 
asked,  with  evident  disgust,  (t  Can  the  creature  sew 
ony  ? "  evidently  putting  the  accomplishment  of 
playing  the  pianoforte  and  the  accomplishment  of  the 
needle  in  the  same  category.  The  greater  facility 
of  producing  books,  prints,  and  other  articles  which 
tend  to  the  comfort  and  embellishment  of  domestic 
life,  must  have  considerable  influence  upon  the 
habits  and  tastes  of  a  people.  I  have  often  thought 
how  much  effect  might  be  traced  to  the  single  cir- 
cumstance of  the  cheap  production  of  pianofortes. 
An  increased  facility  of  procuring  the  means  of  ac- 
quaintance with  good  works  of  art  and  literature, 
acts  both  as  cause  and  effect.  A  growing  and  im- 
proved taste  tends  to  stimulate  the  production  of  the 
best  works  of  art.  These,  in  return,  foster  and 
advance  the  power  of  forming  a  due  estimate  of  art. 
In  the  higher  department  of  music,  for  example,  the 
cheap  rate  of  hearing  compositions  of  the  first  class, 
and  of  possessing  the  works  of  the  most  eminent 
composers,  must  have  had  influence  upon  thousands. 
The  principal  oratorios  of  Handel  may  be  purchased 
for  as  many  shillings  each  as  they  cost  pounds  years 
ago.  Indeed,  at  that  time  the  very  names  of  those 


Scottish   -Life   8f   Character.  249 

immortal  works  were  known  only  to  a  few  who 
were  skilled. to  appreciate  their  high  beauties.  Now 
associations  are  formed  for  practising  and  studying 
the  choral  works  of  the  great  masters.  In  connec- 
tion, however,  with  this  subject,  I  may  notice  here 
that  a  taste  for  that  most  interesting  style  of  music, 
the  pure  Scottish,  is  in  some  quarters  becoming  a 
matter  of  reminiscence.  Of  reminiscence  I  mean 
so  far  as  concerns  the  enthusiasm  with  which  it  was 
once  esteemed  and  cultivated  amongst  us.  I  do 
not  speak  so  much  of  the  songs  of  Scotland,  which 
can  never  lose  their  charm,  although  of  them  even 
some  are  growing  fast  out  of  the  acquaintance  of 
the  younger  members  of  society  ;  but  I  refer  more 
particularly  to  the  reels  and  strathspeys,  which  with 
many  Scotch  persons  have  become  nearly  quite  ob- 
solete. When  properly  performed,  it  is  a  most 
animating  and  delightful  strain  —  not  of  a  refined  or 
scientific  class,  but  joyous  and  inspiriting.  It  has  a 
peculiar  character  of  its  own,  and  requires  to  be 
performed  with  a  particular  and  spicy  dexterity  of 
hand,  whether  for  the  bow  or  the  keys.  Accord- 
ingly, young  ladies  used  to  take  lessons  in  it  as  a 
finish  to  their  musical  education.  Such  teaching 
would  now,  I  fear,  be  treated  with  contempt  by 
many  of  our  modern  fair  ones.  I  recollect  at  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century,  my  eldest  sister, 
who  was  a  good  musician  of  the  school  of  Pleyel, 
Kozeluch,  Clementi,  etc.,  having  such  lessons  from 
Nathaniel  Gow,  a  celebrated  reel  and  strathspey 
ii* 


250  Reminiscences  of 

performer.  Nathaniel  was  the  son  of  NEIL  Gow, 
who  was  the  most  eminent  performer  and  composer 
of  the  pure  Scottish  dance  music.  A  correspond- 
ent, who  knew  Neil  Gow,  and  was  inquiring  after 
him  at  his  cottage  the  day  of  his  death,  in  1807, 
has  kindly  communicated  a  characteristic  anec- 
dote :  —  Neil  was  rather  addicted  to  the  whisky 
bottle.  On  walking  home  to  Dunkeld,  one  night, 
from  Perth)  where  he  had  been  engaged,  as  usual, 
to  play  the  violin  at  some  ball,  upon  being  asked, 
next  day,  how  he  had  got  home,  for  it  was  a  long 
walk,  and  he  was  very  tipsy,  replied,  "  that  he  didna 
mind  the  length  o'  the  road  ;  it  was  the  breadth  o* 
it  that  he  cast  oot  wi' !  "  —  under  the  recollection  of 
his  having  knocked  about  from  side  to  side.  At 
the  close  of  the  last  century  Neil's  celebrity  might 
be  said  to  rival  that  of  Burns  ;  and  Neil's  strath- 
speys were  on  a  par  with  the  songs  of  Robby.  But 
alas  !  that  celebrity  and  popularity  are  becoming 
matters  of  reminiscence  with  the  few.  With  the 
rising  generation  the  name  has  passed  away.  It  is 
a  pity.  Even  still,  let  a  good  strathspey  performer 
begin  to  play  such  tunes,  for  example,  as  "  Up  an' 
Waur  them  a',  Willie,"  «  Brig  o'  Dee,"  "  Reel  o' 
Tulloch,"  «  Loch  Eric  Side,"  or  "  Monimusk," 
and  every  countenance  brightens  with  animation. 

We  must  acknowledge  that  the  love  of  Scottish 
music  used  to  be  with  some  of  the  older  generation 
a  very  exclusive  taste,  and  that  they  had  as  little  sym- 
pathy with  the  admirers  of  Italian  strains  as  such 


Scottish   Life    8f   Character.          251 

admirers  could  have  with  theirs.  I  have  been  sup- 
plied with  an  amusing  illustration  of  this  intolerance 
—  A  family  belonging  to  the  Scottish  Border,  after 
spending  some  time  at  Florence,  had  returned  home, 
and  proud  of  the  progress  they  had  made  in  music, 
the  young  ladies  were  anxious  to  shew  off  their  ac- 
complishments before  an  old  confidential  servant  of 
the  family,  and  accordingly  sung  to  her  some  of  their 
finest  Italian  songs  which  they  had  learned  abroad. 
Instead,  however,  of  paying  them  a  compliment  on 
their  performance,  she  shewed  what  she  thought  of 
it  by  asking  with  much  naivete,  "  Eh,  mem,  do  they 
caj  skirling  like  yon  singing  in  foreign  parts  ?  " 

There  are  many  causes  in  operation  to  produce 
changes  in  taste,  habits,  and  associations,  amongst 
us.  Families  do  not  vegetate  for  years  in  one  retired 
spot  as  they  used  to  do ;  young  men  are  encouraged 
to  attain  accomplishments,  and  to  have  other  sources 
of  interest  than  the  field  or  the  bottle.  Every  one 
knows,  or  may  know,  everything  that  is  going  on 
through  the  whole  world.  There  is  a  tendency  in 
mankind  to  lose  all  that  is  peculiar,  and  in  nations  to 
part  with  all  that  distinguishes  them  from  each  other. 
We  hear  of  wonderful  changes  in  habits  and  customs 
where  change  seemed  impossible.  In  India  and  Tur- 
key even,  peculiarities  and  prejudices  are  fading  away 
under  the  influence  of  time.  Amongst  ourselves,  no 
doubt,  one  circumstance  tended  greatly  to  call  forth, 
and,  as  we  may  say,  to  develops,  the  peculiar  Scotch 
humour  of  which  we  speak  —  and  that  was  the  fa- 


252  Reminiscences   of 

miliarity  of  intercourse  which  took  place  between 
persons  in  different  positions  of  life.  This  extended 
even  to  an  occasional  interchange  of  words  between 
the  minister  and  the  members  of  his  flock  during 
time  of  service.  I  have  two  anecdotes  in  illustration 
of  this  fact,  which  I  have  reason  to  believe  are  quite 
authentic.  In  the  church  of  Banchory  on  Deeside, 
to  which  I  have  referred,  a  former  minister  always 
preached  without  book,  and  being  of  an  absent  dis- 
position, he  sometimes  forgot  the  head  of  discourse 
on  which  he  was  engaged,  and  got  involved  in  con- 
fusion. On  one  occasion,  being  desirous  of  recalling 
to  his  memory  the  division  of  his  subject,  he  called 
out  to  one  of  his  elders,  a  farmer  on  the  estate  of 
Ley,  u  Bush  !  (the  narrie  of  his  farm)  Bush,  ye 're 
sleeping."  "  Na,  sir,  I'm  no  sleeping  —  I'm  listen- 
ing." "  Weel  then,  what  had  I  begun  to  say?  "  "  O, 
ye  were  saying  so  and  so."  This  was  enough,  and 
supplied  the  minister  with  the  thread  of  his  discourse; 
and  he  went  on.  The  other  anecdote  related  to  the 
parish  of  Cumbernauld,  the  minister  of  which  was,  at 
the  time  referred  to,  noted  for  a  very  disjointed  and 
rambling  style  of  preaching,  without  method  or  con- 
nection. His  principal  heritor  was  the  Lord  Elphin- 
stone  of  the  time,  and  unfortunately  the  minister 
and  the  peer  were  not  on  good  terms,  and  always 
ready  to  annoy  each  other  by  sharp  sayings  or  other- 
wise. The  minister  on  one  occasion  had  somewhat 
in  this  spirit  called  upon  the  beadle  to  "  wauken 
my  Lord  Elphinstone,"  upon  which  Lord  E.  said. 


Scottish    Life    $    Character.          253 

c<  Pm  no  sleeping,  minister."  "  Indeed  you  were, 
my  lord."  He  again  disclaimed  the  sleeping.  So 
as  a  test  the  preacher  asked  him,  "  What  had  I  been 
saying  last  then  ?  "  "  Oh  just  wauken  Lord  Elphin- 
stone."  ce*Ay,  but  what  did  I  say  before  that  ?  " 
"  Indeed,"  retorted  Lord  Elphinstone,  "  I'll  gie  ye  a 
guinea  if  ye'll  tell  that  yersell,  minister."  We  can- 
not imagine  the  possibility  of  such  scenes  taking  place 
amongst  us  now.  It  seems  as  if  all  men  were  gradu- 
ally approximating  to  a  common  type  or  form  in  their 
manners  and  views  of  life  ;  oddities  are  sunk,  prom- 
inences are  rounded  off,  sharp  features  are  polished, 
and  all  is  becoming  amongst  us  smooth  and  conven- 
tional. The  remark,  like  the  effect,  is  general,  and  ex- 
tends to  other  countries  as  well  as  to  our  own.  But 
as  we  have  more  recently  had  our  peculiarities  of 
dialect,  oddity,  and  eccentricity,  it  becomes  the  more 
amusing  to  mark  our  participation  in  this  change,  be- 
cause a  period  of  fifty  years  shews  here  a  greater  con- 
trast than  the  same  period  would  shew  in  most  other 
localities. 

In  my  early  days  we  all  regularly  attended  the 
Established  Church  at  Fettercairn.  In  the  rural 
churches  in  those  times  a  custom  prevailed  which  I 
suppose  has  now  generally  gone  out  —  at  least  it  has 
done  so  in  my  country:  —  After  the  blessing  had 
been  delivered,  the  minister  invariably  turned  to  the 
heritors,  who  always  occupied  the  front  seats  of  the 
gallery,  and  made  low  bows  to  each  family.  An- 
other custom  I  recollect  :  —  When  the  text  had  been 


254  Reminiscences  of 

given  out,  it  was  usual  for  the  elder  branches  of  the 
congregation  to  hand  about  their  bibles  amongst  the 
younger  members,  marking  the  place,  and  calling 
their  attention  to  the  passage.  During  service 
another  handing  about  was  frequent  amongst  the 
seniors,  and  that  was  a  circulation  of  the  sneeshin 
mull  or  snuff-box.  Indeed,  I  have  heard  of  the 
same  practice  in  an  episcopal  church,  and  particularly 
in  one  case  of  an  ordination,  where  the  bishop  took 
his  pinch  of  snuff  and  handed  the  mull  to  go  round 
amongst  the  clergy  assembled  for  the  solemn  oc- 
casion within  the  altar  rails.  At  an  earlier  date 
than  that  of  which  I  speak,  a  custom  generally  pre- 
vailed, which,  however,  has  now  become  only  tradi- 
tionary—  I  mean  the  hour-glass  affixed  to  the  pulpit, 
to  regulate  the  length  of  the  sermon. 

In  the  "  Scotsman"  newspaper  of  November  7, 
1859,  there  occurs  the  following  notice  of  the  pres- 
ervation of  one  of  those  ancient  portions  of  church 
furniture  — "  A  sand-glass  for  marking  time  having 
been  seen  in  the  Established  Church  of  a  parish 
near  Perth,  a  gentleman  residing  near  Dundee  sent 
to  the  clergyman,  requesting  particulars  about  it,  and 
received  in  reply  the  following  account  of  its  pur- 
pose and  uses  :  — c  Our  sand-glass  is  a  relic  of  an- 
tiquity. There  used  to  be  one  in  every  church  in  the 
olden  time.  Their  use  was  to  regulate  the  length 
of  the  long-winded  orations  with  which  the  minis- 
ters of  those  days  were  wont  to  favour  their  hearers. 
Watches  were  not  so  common  then  as  now  ;  and, 


Scottish   Life    fy   Character.          255 

as  the  sermons  were  not  written,  the  preachers, 
when  once  set  a-going,  did  not  know  when  to  stop 
without  some  seasonable  monition.  With  a  view 
to  this,  a  sand-glass  was  erected  on  a  stand  in  front 
of  the  precentor's  desk,  so  as  to  be  seen  both  by 
minister  and  people.  When  the  sand  ran  out,  the 
precentor,  whose  duty  it  was  to  attend  to  it,  held  it 
up  in  front  of  the  minister,  to  let  him  know  how 
the  time  was  passing.  I  found  our  glass  among 
some  lumber,  along  with  the  tent  which  was  used 
at  the  tent  preachings  or  "  Holy  Fairs,"  and  got  it 
restored  to  its  ancient  position  as  a  curiosity.  The 
stand  is  rather  tastefully  made  of  thin  iron  plates,  and 
I  thought  it  a  pity  it  should  be  allowed  to  fall  aside.' ' 
Amongst  "  reminiscences  "  which  do  not  extend 
so  far  back  as  sand-glasses,  we  may  mention  the 
disappearance  of  Trinity  Church  in  Edinburgh, 
which  has  taken  place  within  the  last  fifteen  years. 
It  was  founded  by  Mary  of  Gueldres,  queen  of 
James  II.  of  Scotland,  in  1446,  and  liberally  en- 
dowed for  a  provost,  prebendaries,  choristers,  etc. 
It  was  never  completed,  but  the  portions  built,  viz., 
choir,  transept,  and  central  tower,  were  amongst 
the  finest  specimens  of  later  Gothic  work  in  Scot- 
land. The  pious  founder  had  placed  it  at  the  east 
end  of  what  was  then  the  North  Loch.  Like 
Lady  Glenorchy,  she  chose  her  own  church  for  the 
resting-place  of  her  remains  as  a  sanctuary  of  safety 
and  repose.  A  railway  parliamentary  bill,  however, 
overrides  founders'  intentions  and  Episcopal  conse- 


256  Reminiscences  of 

crations.  Where  once  stood  the  beautiful  church 
of  the  Holy  Trinity,  where  once  the  cc  pealing  or- 
gan "  and  the  "  full  voiced  choir  "  were  daily  heard 
"  in  service  high  and  anthems  clear  "  —  where  for 
400  years  slept  the  ashes  of  a  Scottish  Queen,  now 
resound  the  noise  and  turmoil  of  a  railway  station. 
In  our  reminiscences  of  many  changes,  which 
have  taken  jflace  during  fifty  years  in  Scottish 
manners,  it  might  form  an  interesting  section  to 
record  some  of  the  peculiarities  which  remain.  I 
mean  such  peculiarities  as  yet  linger  amongst  us, 
and  still  mark  a  difference  in  some  of  our  social 
habits  from  those  of  England.  Some  Scottish 
usages  die  hard,  and  are  found  here  and  there  for 
the  amusement  of  southern  visitors.  To  give  a  few 
examples,  persons  still  persist  among  us  in  calling 
the  head  of  the  family,  or  the  host,  the  landlord^ 
although  he  never  charged  his  guests  a  halfpenny 
for  the  hospitality  he  exercises.  In  games,  golf 
and  curling  still  continue  to  mark  the  national 
character  —  cricket  was  long  an  exotic  amongst  us. 
In  many  of  our  educational  institutions,  however,  it 
seems  now  fairly  to  have  taken  root.  We  continue 
to  call  our  reception  rooms  "public  rooms,"  although 
never  used  for  any  but  domestic  purposes.  Military 
rank  is  attached  to  ladies,  as  we  speak  of  Mrs. 
Captain  Scott,  Mrs.  Major  Smith.1  On  the  occasion 

1  I  am  assured  by  a  correspondent  that  such  is  the  custom  in 
some  parts  of  England.  It  may  be  for  the  higher  ranks  of 
general  and  colonel,  but  I  hardly  think-  they  ever  speak  in 


Scottish   Life    fy    Character.         257 

of  a  death,  we  persist  in  sending  circular  notices  to 
all  the  relatives,  whether  they  know  of  it  or  not  — 
a  custom  which,  together  with  men  wearing  weepers 
at  funeral  solemnities,  is  unknown  in  England.  An- 
nouncing a  married  lady's  death  under  her  maiden 
name  must  seem  strange  to  English  ears, — as,  for  ex- 
ample, we  read  of  the  demise  of  Jane  Dixon,  spouse 
of  Thomas  Morison.  Scottish  cookery  retains  its 
ground,  and  hotch-potch,  minced  collops,  sheep's  head 
singed,  and  occasionally  haggis,  are  still  marked  pecu- 
liarities of  the  Scottish  table.  These  social  differ- 
ences linger  amongst  us.  But  stronger  points  are  worn 
away,  eccentricities  and  oddities  such  as  existed  once 
will  not  do  now.  One  does  not  see  why  eccentricity 
should  be  more  developed  in  one  age  than  in  another, 
but  we  cannot  avoid  the  conclusion  that  the  day  for 
real  oddities  is  no  more.  Professors  of  colleges  are 
those  in  whom  one  least  expects  .  it  —  grave  and 
learned  characters,  and  yet  such  have  been  in  former 
times.  We  can  scarcely  now  imagine  such  professors 
as  we  read  of  in  a  past  generation.  Take  the  case 
of  no  less  distinguished  a  person  than  Adam  Smith, 
author  of  the  u  Wealth  of  Nations,"  who  went  about 
the  streets  talking  and  laughing  to  himself  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  make  the  market  women  think  he  was 
deranged  ;  and  he  told  of  one  himself  who  ejaculated 
as  he  passed,  "  Hech  sirs,  and  he  is  weel  pat  on, 

England  of  Mrs.  Lieutenant  Munro  or  Mrs.  Ensign  Paterson, 
as  used  to  be  the  custom  in  Scotch  country  towns,  and  may  be 
so  still. 


258  Reminiscences   of 

too  ! "  expressing  surprise  that  a  decided  lunatic, 
who  from  his  dress  appeared  to  be  a  gentleman, 
should  be  permitted  to  walk  abroad.  Professors  still 
have  their  crotchets  like  other  people ;  but  we  can 
scarcely  conceive  a  professor  of  our  day  coming  out 
like  Adam  Smith  to  have  fish-wives  making  such 
observations  on  his  demeanour.  Of  these  changes 
there  are  many  which  the  dignified  muse  of  history 
will  scarcely  condescend  to  record  or  notice.  Per- 
haps some  changes  are  better  described  in  idle  gossip 
like  this  than  by  the  historic  page  ;  and  this  made 
me  remark,  as  an  introduction  to  the  record  of  these 
anecdotes,  that  personal  recollections  and  reminiscen- 
ces might  be  extremely  valuable  in  describing  those 
lighter  variations  of  society  which  do  not  come  prop- 
erly within  the  scope  of  history.  For  instance,  the 
story  told  in  Lockhart's  "  Life  of  Sir  W.  Scott,"  of  the 
blacksmith  whom  Sir  Walter  had  formerly  known  as 
a  horse  doctor,  and  whom  he  found  at  a  small  coun- 
try town  south  of  the  Border,  practising  medicine 
with  a  reckless  use  of  "  laudamy  and  calomy,"  apol- 
ogizing at  the  same  time  for  the  mischief  he  might 
do,  by  the  assurance  that  it  "  would  be  lang  before  it 
made  up  for  Flodden,"  most  graphically  describes  the 
interest  felt  by  Scotchmen  of  his  rank  in  the  inci- 
dents of  their  national  history.  A  similar  example 
has  been  recorded  in  connection  with  Bannockburn. 
Two  English  gentlemen  visited  the  field  of  that 
great  battle,  and  a  country  blacksmith  pointed  out 
with  much  intelligence  the  positions  of  the  two 


Scottish    Life    fy   Character.          259 

armies,  the  stone  on  which  was  fixed  the  Bruce's 
standard,  etc.  The  gentlemen,  on  leaving,  pressed 
his  acceptance  of  a  crown  piece.  "  Na,  na,"  re- 
plied the  Scotsman,  with  much  pride,  "  it  has  cost 
ye  eneuch  already."  Such  an  example  of  self-denial 
on  the  part  of  a  Scottish  cicerone  is,  we  fear,  now 
entirely  a  "  reminiscence.0 

In  further  illustration  of  these  remarks,  we  may 
refer  to  the  bearing  of  some  old-fashioned  language 
upon  past  national  historical  connections.  Thus, 
from  some  words  which  are  quite  domesticated 
throughout  Scotland,  we  learn  how  close,  at  one 
time,  must  have  been  our  alliance  with  France,  and 
how  much  influence  must  have  been  exercised  upon 
general  society  by  French  intercourse.  Scoto-Gallic 
words  were  quite  differently  situated  from  French 
words  and  phrases  adopted  in  England.  With  us 
they  proceeded  from  a  real  admixture  of  the  two 
peoples.  With  us  they  were  of  the  ordinary  common 
language  of  the  country,  that  was  from  a  distant 
period  moulded  by  French.  In  England,  the  educa- 
ted and  upper  classes  of  late  years  adopted  French 
words  and  phrases.  With  us,  some  of  our  French 
derivatives  are  growing  obsolete  as  vulgar,  and  nearly 
all  are  passing  from  fashionable  society.  In  England, 
we  find,  the  French-adopted  words  rather  receiving 
accessions  than  going  out  of  use. 

Examples  of  words  such  as  we  have  referred  to, 
as  shewing  a  French  influence  and  admixture,  are 
familiar  to  many  of  my  readers.  I  recollect  some  of 


260  Reminiscences   of 

them  in  constant  use  amongst  old-fashioned  Scottish 
people,  and  those  terms,  let  it  be  remembered,  are 
unknown  in  England. 

A  leg  of  mutton  was  always,  with  old-fashioned 
Scotch  people,  a  gigot  (Fr.  gigot). 

The  crystal  jug  or  decanter  in  which  water  is 
placed  upon  the  table,  was  a  caraff  (Fr.  carafe). 

Gooseberries  were  groserts,  or  grossarts  (Fr. 
groseille). 

Partridges  were  pertricks,  —  a  word  much  more 
formed  upon  the  French  perdrix  than  the  English 
partridge. 

The  plate  on  which  a  joint  or  side-dish  was  placed 
upon  the  table,  was  an  ashet  (Fr.  assiette). 

In  the  old  streets  of  Edinburgh,  where  the  houses 
are  very  high,  and  where  the  inhabitants  all  live  in 
flats,  before  the  introduction  of  soil-pipes  there  was 
no  method  of  disposing  of  the  foul  water  of  the 
household,  except  by  throwing  it  out  of  the  window 
into  the  street.  This  operation,  dangerous  to  those 
outside,  was  limited  to  certain  hours,  and  the  well- 
known  cry  which  preceded  the  missile  and  warned 
the  passenger,  was  gardeloo !  or,  as  Smollet  writes  it, 
gardy  loo  (Fr.  garde  de  1'eau). 

Anything  troublesome  or  irksome  used  to  be 
called,  Scottice,  fashous  (Fr.  facheux,  facheuse) ; 
to  fash  one's  self  (Fr.  se  facher). 

The  small  cherry,  both  black  and  red,  common 
in  gardens,  is  in  Scotland,  never  in  England,  termed 
gean  (Fr.  guigne),  from  Guigne,  in  Picardy. 


Scottish  Life  fy  Character.  261 

The  term  dam-brod  (see  page  106  ?)  arises  from 
adopting  French  terms  into  Scottish  language,  as 
dams  were  the  pieces  with  which  the  game  of 
draughts  was  played  (Fr.  dames). 

A  bedgown,  or  loose  female  upper  garment,  is 
still  in  many  parts  of  Scotland  termed  a  jupe  (Fr. 
jupe). 

In  Kincardineshire  the  ashes  of  a  blacksmith's 
furnace  had  the  peculiar  name  of  smiddy-coom  (Fr. 
£cume,  i.e.,  dross). 

Oil,  in  common  Scotch,  used  always  to  be  ule, 
—  as  the  uley  pot,  or  uley  cruse  (Fr.  huile). 

Every  one  at  all  advanced  in  life  could  convey 
some  vivid  impressions  of  his  early  days,  and  thus 
form  for  the  younger  generation  a  link  between  their 
own  and  a  past  age.  As  an  example  of  such  com- 
munication, I  would  adduce  especially  the  early 
portion  of  Lord  Cockburn's  book.  We  have  al- 
ready referred  to  the  account  he  gives  of  the  ludi- 
crous and  absurd  system  of  toasts  and  sentiments 
which  sixty  years  ago  was  a  necessary  evil  of  the 
table.  Some  of  these  domestic  customs  which  ty- 
rannically, and  one  would  think  most  uncomfortably, 
ruled  society,  and  to  which  the  fathers  and  grand- 
fathers of  many  of  us  used  to  bear  witness,  seem 
now  almost  too  strange  to  be  believed  ;  as  for  ex- 
ample, at  a  ball,  the  partners  were  never  changed 
the  whole  evening.  To  a  young  lady,  therefore, 
the  first  request  for  her  hand  in  the  dance  was  a 
very  serious  matter.  An  octogenarian  friend  of 


262  Reminiscences  of 

mine,  in  good  health  and  spirits  (Icng  may  he  enjoy 
them!)  has  told  me  of  his  dress  at  the  dancing- 
school  balls,  and  which  mark  a  considerable  change 
of  costume  in  a  lifetime.  A  pearl  grey  coat,  nearly 
white ;  white  waistcoat ;  yellow  or  canary  shorts, 
with  large  bunches  of  ribbon  at  the  knee  of  the 
same  colour ;  blue  silk  stockings  ;  pumps,  with  large 
bows  of  ribbon.  Cocked  hats  then  prevailed  even 
amongst  juvenile  attendants.  Then,  again,  imagine 
the  dire  necessity  of  drinking  the  health  of  every 
mortal  at  table  every  time  you  received  a  glass  of 
wine  or  called  for  beer,  and  still  worse,  the  irksome 
hospitality  of  being  pressed  to  eat,  urged  to  take  a 
fresh  supply  of  victuals  when  you  had  already  eaten 
more  than  nature  required,  in  deference  to  the  mis- 
placed kindness  of  the  host  or  hostess,  nay,  perhaps, 
of  having  an  additional  wing  of  a  chicken  smuggled 
on  your  plate  when  you  were  for  a  moment  looking 
another  way.1  I  have  heard  old  people  remark 
that  they  can  remember  the  custom-  of  the  host 
saluting  all  lady-guests  on  their  arrival  under  his 
roof.  I  recollect  a  curious  account  which  my 
mother  used  to  give  of  a  custom  now  quite  obso- 

1  There  is  a  curious  illustration  of  this  practice  of  pressing 
to  eat,  in  Miss  Mure's  "  Remarks  on  the  changes  of  manners 
in  my  own  time,  1700-1790."  She  explains  it  thus  :  "  Nobody 
helped  themselves  at  table,  nor  was  it  the  fashion  to  eat  up  what 
was-  put  on  their  plate.  So  that  the  mistress  of  the  family 
might  give  you  a  full  meal  or  not  as  she  pleased,  from  whence 
came  in  the  fashion  of  pressing  the  guests  to  eat,  so  far  as  to  be 
disagreeable."  —  Caldrwell  Papers,  page  259. 


Scottish   Life    Sf   Character.  263 

lete,  with  which  the  new  year  was  ushered  in  at 
Edinburgh,  during  the  time  of  her  residence  in  the 
Scottish  capital,  soon  after  her  marriage,  which  must 
have  been  at  least  seventy  years  ago.  Persons  pro- 
vided themselves  with  what  was  called  bet  pint  — 
a  mixture  of  hot  ale,  and  rum,  with  switched  eggs, 
sugar,  and  spices  —  with  which  they  rushed  from 
house  to  house  of  their  acquaintances,  and  made 
them  drink  of  it  as  soon  as  the  clock  had  struck 
twelve  and  the  new  year  had  commenced  ; l  the 
great  thing  was  to  force  their  way  into  bed-rooms, 
and  assail  the  occupants,  whether  in  bed  or  not,  and 
force  them  to  drink  of  the  het  pint.  Another  part 
of  these  new  year  saturnalia  was  to  stop  the  ladies' 
sedan-chairs  (which  was  then  the  constant  convey- 
ance) coming  from  parties  ;  to  take  out  the  ladies  and 
salute  them,  a  privilege  then  claimed  by  all.  I  recol- 
lect hearing  Miss  Burnett  of  Monboddo  (a  grand- 
daughter of  Lord  Monboddo)  say,  that  before  she 
got  home  on  such  nights  her  lips  were  sore.  All 
this  is  very  different  from  the  quiet  and  unmarked 
entrance  of  the  new  year  amongst  us  at  present.  It 
is  scarcely  observed  by  persons  wishing  each  other  a 
happy  new  year.  I  regret  that  we  have  not  more 
reminiscences  prepared  for  the  purpose  of  elucidating 
such  changes  in  social  customs  and  domestic  usages 

1  "  The  lads  weel  kenning  what  is  due, 

Their  new  year  gifties  take  — 
Het  pints  to  warm  the  cauldrife  mou, 
And  buns  an'  succar  cakes."  —  NICOL. 


264  Reminiscences   of 

as  these.  Much  might  be  done  by  one  person  who 
would  give  himself  to  the  work ;  for  it  is  curious  to 
think  how  far  back  an  attentive  observer  and  chron- 
icler, who  has  passed  middle  age,  might  retrace  old 
forgotten  ways,  and  bring  traditional  knowledge  to 
the  light.  Take  my  own  case  for  example.  At 
eight  years  of  age  I  was  consigned  to  the  care  of  my 
grand-uncle,  who  died,  at  the  age  of  ninety-one,  in 
1806.  He  was  born  in  1715,  so  that  I  could  have 
derived  impressions  from  him  of  events  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  years  ago  or  upwards  from  the  pres- 
ent time.  Then  take  his  traditionary  and  personal 
communication,  and  he  could  tell  of  a  man  and  of 
what  a  man  told  him  who  had  himself  witnessed  the 
execution  of  Charles  I.  This  at  first  sight  seems 
somewhat  startling,  but  it  will  be  quite  evident  on  a 
moment's  reflection.  My  uncle,  at  the  age  of  fifteen, 
being  then  a  younger  son,  was  placed  in  a  mercantile 
house  in  London;  that  being  in  the  year  1730,  and 
one  of  the  partners  being  an  aged  man,  eighty-nine 
years  of  age,  would  easily  allow  him  to  have  been 
eight  years  old  when  his  father  took  him  to  witness 
that  fearful  scene  at  Whitehall  in  1649.  He  could 
have  told  my  uncle,  therefore,  from  personal  recol- 
lection, minutiae  of  details  which  would  easily  escape 
the  pen  of  the  historian.  I  would  not  be  misunder- 
stood as  if  at  all  implying  that  I  had  actually  such  an 
opportunity  of  learning  traditionary  Scottish  customs 
or  anecdotes  from  this  venerable  relative,  because,  in 
fact,  I  learnt  nothing.  But  I  mean  to  shew  how 


Scottish    Life    8f    Character.          265 

much  of  this  information  might  have  been  gained 
and  handed  down  if  parties  had  been  observant  and 
communicative.  A  great  deal  of  such  knowledge 
has  been  conveyed  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  through  his 
novels.  Still  we  desiderate  more  conversational  tra- 
ditions of  personal  recollection  of  past  times. 


CONCLUSION. 


N  all  these  details  regarding  the  changes 
which  many  now  living  have  noticed  to 
have  taken  place  in  our  customs  and 
habits  of  society  in  Scotland,  this  ques- 
tion must  always  occur  to  the  thoughtful  and  serious 
mind,  Are  the  changes  which  have  been  observed 
for  good?  Is  the  world  a  better  world  than  that  which 
we  can  remember  ?  On  some  important  points 
changes  have  been  noticed  in  the  upper  classes  of 
Scottish  society,  which  unquestionably  are  improve- 
ments. For  example,  the  greater  attention  paid  to 
attendance  upon  public  worship,  —  the  disappearance 
of  profane  swearing  and  of  excess  in  drinking.  But 
then  the  painful  questions  arise,  Are  such  beneficial 
changes  general  through  the  whole  body  of  our  coun- 
trymen? may  not  the  vices  and  follies  of  one  grade  of 
society  have  found  a  refuge  in  those  that  are  of  a 
lower  class  ?  may  not  new  faults  have  taken  their 
place  where  older  faults  have  been  abandoned  ?  Of 
this  we  are  quite  sure,  no  lover  of  his  country  can  fail 
to  entertain  the  anxious  wish,  that  the  change  we 
noticed  in  regard  to  drinking  and  swearing  were 
universal,  and  that  we  had  some  evidence  of  its  being 


Scottish    Life    $    Character.  267 

extended  through  all  classes  of  society.  We  ought 
certainly  to  feel  grateful  when  we  reflect  that  in 
many  instances  which  we  have  noticed,  the  ways  and 
customs  of  society  are  much  improved  in  common 
sense,  in  decency,  in  delicacy,  and  refinement.  There 
are  certain  modes  of  life,  certain  expressions,  eccen- 
tricity of  conduct,  coarseness  of  speech,  books,  and 
plays,  which  were  in  vogue  amongst  us,  even  fifty 
or  sixty  years  ago,  which  would  not  be  tolerated  in 
society  at  the  present  time.  We  cannot  illustrate 
this  in  a  more  satisfactory  manner  than  by  reference 
to  the  acknowledgment  of  a  very  interesting  and 
charming  old  lady,  who  died  so  lately  as  1823.  In 
1821,  Mrs.  Keith  of  Ravelstone,  grand-aunt  of  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  thus  writes,  in  returning  to  him  the 
work  of  a  female  novelist  which  she  had  borrowed 
from  him  out  of  curiosity,  and  to  remind  her  of 
"  auld  lang  syne  :  "  "  Is  it  not  a  very  odd  thing  that 
I,  an  old  woman  of  eighty  and  upwards,  sitting 
alone,  feel  myself  ashamed  to  read  a  book  which, 
sixty  years  ago,  I  have  heard  read  aloud  for  the 
amusement  of  large  circles,  consisting  of  the  first 
and  most  creditable  society  in  London  ?  "  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  at  the  time  referred  to  by  Mrs. 
Keith,  «  Tristram  Shandy,"1 "  Tom  Jones,"  "  Hum- 

1  Sterne,  in  one  of  his  letters,  describes  his  reading  "  Tristram 
Shandy"  to  his  wife  and  daughter — his  daughter  copying  from 
his  dictation,  and  Mrs.  Sterne  sitting  by  and  listening  whilst 
she  worked.  In  the  life  of  Sterne,  it  is  recorded  that  he  used 
to  carry  about  in  his  pocket  a  volume  of  this  same  work,  arid 


268  Reminiscences    of 

phrey  Clinker,"  etc.,  were  on  the  drawing-room  tables 
of  ladies  whose  grandchildren  or  great-grandchildren 
never  saw  them,  or  would  not  acknowledge  it  if  they 
had  seen  them.  But  authors  not  inferior  to  Sterne, 
Fielding,  or  Smollett,  are  now  popular,  and  who 
can  describe  the  scenes  of  human  life  with  as 
much  force  and  humour,  and  yet  there  is  nothing 
in  their  pages  which  need  offend  the  taste  of  the 
most  refined,  or  shock  the  feelings  of  the  most 
pure.  This  is  a  change  where  there  is  also  great 
improvement.  It  indicates  not  merely  a  better 
moral  perception  in  authors  themselves,  but  it  is 
itself  a  homage  to  the  improved  spirit  of  the  age. 
We  will  hope  that,  with  an  improved  exterior,  there 
is  improvement  in  society  within.  If  the  feelings 
shrink  from  what  is  coarse  in  expression,  we  may 
hope  that  vice  has,  in  some  sort,  lost  attraction. 
At  any  rate,  from  what  we  discern  around  us,  we 
hope  favourably  for  the  general  improvement  of 
mankind,  and  of  our  own  beloved  country  in  par- 
ticular. If  Scotland,  in  parting  with  her  rich  and 
racy  dialect,  her  odd  and  eccentric  characters,  is  to 
lose  something  in  quaint  humour  and  good  stories, 
we  will  hope  she  may  grow  and  strengthen  in  better 
things  — r-  good  as  those  are  which  she  loses.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  I  feel  quite  assured  that  the  ex- 
read  it  aloud  when  he  wejit  into  company.  Admirable  reading 
for  the  church  dignitary,  the  prebendary  of  York  !  How  well 
adapted  to  the  hours  of  social  intercourse  with  friends !  How 
fitted  for  domestic  seclusion  with  his  family  ! 


Scottish    Life    8f    Character.          269 

amples  which  I  have  now  given  of  Scottish  expres- 
sions, Scottish  modes  and  habits  of  life,  and  Scottish 
anecdotes,  which  belong  in  a  great  measure  to  the 
past,  and  yet  which  are  remembered  as  having  a 
place  in  the  present  century,  must  carry  conviction 
that  great  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  Scottish 
social  circle.  There  were  some  things  belonging  to 
our  country  which  we  must  all  have  desired  should 
be  changed.  There  were  others  which  we  could 
only  see  changed  with  regret  and  sorrow.  The 
hardy  and  simple  habits  of  Scotsmen  of  many  past 
generations,  —  their  industry,  economy,  and  integrity, 
which  made  them  take  so  high  a  place  in  the  es- 
timation and  the  confidence  of  the  people  amongst 
whom  they  dwelt  in  all  countries  of  the  world.  The 
intelligence  and  superior  education  of  her  mechan- 
ics and  her  peasantry,  combined  with  a  strict  moral 
and  religious  demeanour,  fully  justified  the  praise 
of  Burns  when  he  described  the  humble,  though 
sublime  piety  of  the  "  Cottar's  Saturday  Night,  " 
and  we  can  well  appreciate  the  testimony  which  he 
bore  to  the  hallowed  power,  and  sacred  influences 
of  the  devotional  exercises  of  his  boyhood's  home, 
when  he  penned  the  immortal  words  :  — 

"  From  scenes  like  these  old  Scotia's  grandeur  springs, 
That  makes  her  loved  at  home,  revered  abroad." 

These  things,  we  hope  and  trust,  under  the  Divine 
blessing,  will  never  change,  except  *to  increase,  and 
will  never  become  a  question  of  reminiscences  for 


2jo  Reminiscences  of 

the  past.  If  Scotland  has  lost  much  of  the  quaint 
and  original  character  of  former  lawyers,. lairds,  and 
old  ladies,  much  of  the  pungent  wit  and  dry  humour 
of  sayings  in  her  native  dialect,  she  can  afford  to 
sustain  the  loss  if  she  gain  in  refinement,  and  lose 
not  the  more  solid  qualities  and  more  valuable 
characteristics  by  which  she  has  been  distinguished. 
If  peculiarities  of  former  days  are  partially  becoming 
obsolete,  let  them  at  least  be  preserved.  Let  our 
younger  contemporaries,  let  those  who  are  to  come, 
know  something  of  them  from  history,  as  we  elders 
have  known  something  of  them  from  experience. 
The  humour  and  the  point  cannot  all  be  lost  in  their 
being  recorded,  although  they  may  lose  much.  I 
still  hope  to  see  this  carried  on  farther  by  others,  as 
I  am  convinced  great  additions  could  be  made  to 
these  reminiscences,  which  I  have  endeavoured  to 
preserve.  Changes  of  this  nature  in  the  habits  and 
language  of  a  nation  are  extremely  interesting,  and  it 
is  most  desirable  that  we  should  have  them  recorded 
as  well  as  those  greater  changes  and  revolutions 
which  it  is  the  more  immediate  object  of  history  to 
enrol  amongst  her  annals.  And,  whether  the  changes 
of  which  we  are  now  treating  mark  the  deterioration 
or  improvement  of  manners,  useful  lessons  and  im- 
portant moral  conclusions  may  be  drawn  from  these 
narratives  of  the  past.  Causes  are  at  work  which 
must  ere  long  produce  still  greater  changes,  and  it  is 
impossible  to  foresee  what  will  be  the  future  picture 
of  Scottish  life,  as  it  will  probably  be  now  becoming 


Scottish    Life    fy   Character.          271 

every  year  less  and  less  distinguished  from  the  rest 
of  the  world.  But  if  there  shall  be  little  to  mark 
our  national  peculiarities  in  the  time  to  come,  we 
cannot  be  deprived  of  our  reminiscences  of  the  past. 
As  a  Scotchman  I  am  proud  of  the  prestige  which 
belong  to  us  as  a  nation.  I  am  interested  in  every- 
thing which  is  Scottish.  I  consider  it  an  honour  to 
have  been  born  a  Scotchman  ;  and  one  fair  excuse  I 
have  to  offer  for  entertaining  a  proud  feeling  on  the 
subject,  one  proof  I  can  adduce,  that  a  Scottish  line- 
age is  considered  a  legitimate  source  of  self-congratu- 
lation, and  that  is  the  fact  that  I  never  in  my  life 
knew  an  English  or  Irish  family  with  Scottish  rela- 
tions, where  the  members  did  not  refer  with  much 
complacency  to  such  national  connection.  I  cherish 
fondly  all  Scottish  associations.  I  am  grieved  to  see 
our  nationality  fading  away.  I  confess  to  a  strong 
feeling  of  regret  and  indignation  when  I  see  the  in- 
difference shown  by  the  Government  (whatever 
party  be  in  power)  towards  the  few  memorials  of  that 
nationality  that  remain.  Witness  the  condition  of 
Edinburgh  Castle,  Hdlyrood  Chapel  and  Palace,  etc., 
etc.,  and  the  indifference  shown  at  head  quarters 
regarding  their  preservation  and  restoration.  But  I 
have  done.  I  seem  to  linger  over  these  REMINIS- 
CENCES, which  now  belong  to  a  past  national  and  social 
history,  with  mingled  feelings  of  regret  'and  pleasure. 
I  have,  indeed,  in  collecting  these  materials,  recalled 
many  scenes  which  partake  of  that  mixed  character 
which  belongs  to  all  the  concerns  of  human  life. 


272  Reminiscences    of 

But  they  are  at  any  rate  Scottish  materials,  and  as 
such  they  are  our  common  property,  and  appeal  to 
our  common  feelings.  I  should  indeed  be  gratified 
could  I  venture  to  realize  the  hope  so  kindly  enter- 
tained by  my  good  friend  Dr.  Clason,  that  these  idle 
desultory  pages  might  in  some  degree  be  the  means 
of  uniting  Scotchmen  more  closely  in  the  family 
bond,  by  showing  them  a  common  ground  of  family 
interest.  For  myself,  I  think  I  may  say,  that  so  long 
as  I  have  life  and  any  mental  energy  remaining,  I 
shall  fondly  dwell  on  Scottish  names  and  Scottish  as- 
sociations that  are  past ;  and  that,  in  looking  onwards 
to  future  times,  I  cherish  earnestly  that  wish  for  a 
virtuous  populace  which  was  once  poured  forth  in 
the  prayer  of  a  "patriot  bard:"  — 

"  O  Scotia  !  my  dear,  my  native  soil ! 

For  whom  my  warmest  wish  to  heaven  is  sent ; 
Long  may  thy  hardy  sons  of  rustic  toil 

Be  blest  with  health,  and  peace,  and  sweet  content." 

In  such  wishes  let  all  unite  in  heart  and  tongue. 
In  such  feelings  let  our  religious  and  political  dif- 
ferences be  forgotten.  Let  all  the  various  names 
and  forms  of  church  government  'and  church  ser- 
vices merge  for  once  into  the  love  of  country,  so 
that  every  son  and  daughter,  of  Caledonia  shall  cor- 
dially join  in  those  beautiful  words  of  the  Scottish 
paraphrase,  which  have  so  often  risen  with  accept- 
ance from  the  lips  of  crowded  congregations  — 
whether  assembled  on  the  Sabbath  day  in  the  midst 
of  populous  cities,  or  in  the  retired  pastoral  districts 


Scottish   Life    8f   Character.          273 

of  the  country,  or  in    the  wild  glens  of  the  High- 
lands :  — 

"  O  God  of  Bethel,  by  whose  hand 

Thy  people  still  are  fed  : 
Who  through  this  weary  pilgrimage 
Hast  all  our  fathers  led  : 

"  Our  vows,  our  prayers,  we  now  present 

Before  thy  throne  of  grace  : 
God  of  our  fathers  !  be  the  God 
Of  their  succeeding  race." 


12* 


List   of  Proverbs   quoted    in    these    Reminiscences^ 
arranged   Alphabetically. 

A  ELATE  cat  maks  a  proud  mouse,  146. 
A  bonny  bride's  sune  buskit,  133. 
A  burnt  bairn  fire  dreads,  132. 
A  dry  summer  ne'er  made  a  dear  peck,  134. 
Ae  bird  i'  the  hand  is  worth  twa  fleeing,  132. 
Ae  swallow  makes  nae  simmer,  132. 
A  gangang  fit  is  aye  gettin,  126. 
A  green  Yule  and   a  white  Pays   mak  a  fat  kirk- 
yard,  138. 

All  crakes,  all  bears,  127. 
All  wald  have  all,  all  wald  forgie,  126. 
An  air  winter  maks  a  sair  winter,  139. 
Anes  payit  never  cravit,  126. 

A  Scots  mist  will  weet  an  Englishman  to  the  skin,  138, 
A  short  horse  is  sune  wispit,  133. 
AJ  Stuarts  are  na  sib  to  the  king,  134. 
As  sure's  deeth,  145. 
A  wilfu'  man  should  be  unco  wise,  147. 
A  year  a  nurish,  seven  year  a  da,  126. 
A  Yule  feast  may  be  done  at  Pasch,  138. 


276        Alphabetical  List  of  Proverbs. 

BANNOCKS  are  better  nor  nae  kind  o'  bread,  140. 
Better  a  finger  aff  than  aye  waggin,  144. 
Better  a  toom  house  than  an  ill  tenant,  146. 
Bluid  is  thicker  than  water,  144. 
Bourd  not  wi'  bawtie,  127. 
Bread's  house  skailed  never,  127. 

CADGERS  are  aye  cracking  o'  crook-saddles,  145. 
Cadgers  maun  aye  be  cracking  o'  creels,  235. 
Crabbit  was  and  cause  had,  127. 

DAME,   deem    warily   (ye  watna  wha   wytes    yer- 

sell),  127. 
Do    as    the    cow    of    Forfar    did,  tak    a    standing 

drink,  140. 

EFTER  lang  mint  never  dint,  127. 

FAINT  heart  ne'er  wan  fair  lady,  132. 

Fill  fou  and  haud  fou  maks  a  stark  man,  127. 

Folly  is  a  bonny  dog,  140. 

Fules  mak  feasts  and  wise  men  eat  'em,  138. 

HE  has  got  his  kail  through  the  reek,  108. 

He  is  worth  na  weill  that  may  not  bide  na  wae,  128. 

He  rides  on  the  riggin  o'  the  kirk,  143. 

He  rives  the  kirk  to  theik  the  quire,  142. 

He  should  hae  a  lang  shafted  spune  that  sups  kail 

wi'  the  deil,  135. 
He's  not  a  man  to  ride  the  water  wi',  143. 


Alphabetical  List  of  Proverbs.        277 

He  that  crabbs  without  cause,  should  mease  without 

mends,  128. 
He  that  has  a  meikle  nose  thinks  ilka  ane  speaks 

o't,  147. 

He  that  teaches  himsel  has  a  fule  for  his  maister,  147. 
He  that  will  to  Cupar  maun  to  Cupar,  144. 
His  bark  is  waur  nor  his  bite,  140. 
His  head  will  ne'er  fill  his  father's  bonnet,  139. 

I'LL  mak  Cathkin's  covenant  with  you.     Let  abee 

for  let  abee,  145. 
Ill  weeds  wax  weel,  132. 

It  is  an  ill  cause  that  the  lawyer  thinks  shame  o',  147. 
It's  a  sin  to  lee  on  the  deil,  135. 
It 's  aye  guid  to  be  ceevil,  as  the  auld  wife  said  when 

she  beckit  to  the  deevil,  136. 

It's  better  to  sup  wi'  a  cutty  than  want  a  spune,  138. 
It's  ill  getting  the  breeks  aff  the  Highlandman,  134. 
It's  ill  to  wauken  sleeping  dogs,  137. 
It 's  nae  mair  pity  to  see  a  woman  greit,  nor  to  see 

a  goose  go  barefit,  137. 

JOUK  and  let  the  jaw  gang  by,  146. 

KAME  sindle  kame  sair,  128. 

Kamesters  are  aye  creeshie,  128. 

Keep  your  ain  fish  guts  to  your  ain  sea  maws,  138. 

Kindness  creeps  where  it  canna  gang,  144. 

LANG  ere  the  deil  dee  by  the  dykeside,  135. 


278        Alphabetical  List  of  Proverbs. 

Lang  mint  little  dint,  127. 

Leal  heart  never  leed,  143. 

Let  ae  deil  ding  anither,  136. 

Let  alone  makes  mony  lurden,  128. 

Let  him  tak  a  spring  on  his  ain  fiddle,  142. 

Let  that  flee  stick  to  the  wa',  143. 

Like  a  sow  playing  on  a  trump,  143. 

Lippen  to  me,  but  look  to  yoursell,  147. 

Looktt  at  the  moon,  and  lichtit  in  the  midden,  137. 

MAIR  by  luck  than  gude  guiding,  143. 

Mair  whistle  than    woo,    as  the  souter   said    when 

shearing  the  sop,  147. 
Mak  a  kirk  and  a  mill  o't,  143. 
Meat  and  mass  hinders  nae  man,  139. 
Monie  a  thing's  made  for  the  pennie,  144. 
Mony  ane  speirs  the  gate  he  kens  fu'  weel,  146. 
Mony  cooks  ne'er  made  gude  kail,  132. 
Mony  smas  mak  a  muckle,  132. 
Mony  tynes  the  half  mark    whinger  (for  the  halfe 

pennie  whang),  128. 

NA  plie  is  best,  128. 

O  TWA  ills  chuse  the  least,  132. 

RAISE  nae  mair  deils  than  ye  are  able  to  lay,  136. 
Reavers  should  not  be  rewers,  128. 
Ruse  the  fair  day  at  e'en,  141. 


Alphabetical  List  of  Proverbs.        279 

SEIL  comes  not  till  sorrow  be  o'er,  129. 
Sell  o'  your  face,  129. 
Set  a  knave  to  grip  a  knave,  132. 
Set  a  stout  heart  to  a  stey  brae,  133. 
She's  better  than  she's  bonny,  133. 
Sokand  seill  is  best,  129. 

THE  Deil  and  the  Dean  begin  wi'  ae  letter,  when 
the  Deil  has  the  Dean,  the  kirk  will  be  the  bet- 
ter, 136. 

The  deil's  a  busy  bishop  in  his  ain  diocie,  136. 

The  deil's  aye  gude  to  his  ain,  136. 

The  deil's  bairns  hae  deil's  luck,  136. 

The  deil's  gane  ower  Jock  Wabster,  137. 

The  deil's  nae  sae  ill  as  he's  caaed,  135. 

The  e'ening  brings  a'  hame,  141. 

The  king's  errand  may  come  the  cadger's  gate  yet, 
142. 

The  kirk  is  meikle,  but  ye  may  say  mass  in  ae  end 
o't,  142. 

The  maut  is  aboon  the  meal,  143. 

The  men  o'  the  Mearns  manna  do  mair  than  they 
may,  145. 

The  tod  ne'er  sped  better  than  when  he  gaed  his  ain 
errand,  147. 

The  water  will  never  warr  the  widdie,  134. 

There's  aye  water  where  the  stirkie  drouns,  144. 

There's  mae  madines  nor  makines,  129. 

There's  nae  fule  to  an  auld  fule,  132. 

Twa  wits  are  better  than  ane,  132. 


280        Alphabetical  List  of  Proverbs. 

WHA  will  bell  the  cat,  139. 

When  the  castle  of  Stirling  gets  a  hat,  the  carse  of 

Corntown  pays  for  that,  146. 
When  the  dirt's  dry,  it  will  rub  out,  144.     Note. 

YE  are  as  lang  in  tuning  your  pipes  as  anither  would 

play  a  spring,  135. 
Ye  bried  of  the  gouk,  ye  have  not  a  rhyme  but  ane, 

229. 

Ye  canna  mak  a  silk  purse  o'  a  sow's  lug,  132. 
Ye  fand  it  whar  the  Highland  man  fand  the  tangs, 

139- 

Ye  gae  far  about  seeking  the  nearest,  147. 

Ye  hae  tint  the  tongue  o'  the  trump,  139. 

Ye'll  mend  when  ye  grow  better,  147. 

Ye'll  no  sell  your  hen  in  a  rainy  day,  147. 

Ye're  nae  chicken  for  a'  your  cheepin,  147. 

Ye  wad  do  little  for  God  an  the  deevil  was  dead, 

136. 


INDEX. 


A  beautiful  burial,  179.  v  . 

*  A'  the  parish  kens  Jenny  Robertson,'  230. 
Abercairnie,  Laird  of,  215.       .^  : 
Aberdeen,  wife  of  Provost  of,  118. 
Aberdonian  ladies'  anecdote,  118,   119. 
Adam,  Dr.,  anecdote,  81. 

*  Ae,  ae,  but  oh  I'm  sare  hadden  doun  wi'  the  bubbly  jock,'  186. 
Esthetic  movement  in  religion,  32. 

*  A  fair  drinker,'  49. 

Affecting  story  of  an  idiot  boy,  188,  189. 

*  A  great  broon  pig,'  106. 

A  horse  the  length  of  Highgate,  104. 

*  Aiblins  a  hunner,'  172. 

*  Aiblins  ye're  no  sae  popular  i'  the  parish  as  me,'  191. 
Airlie,  Lord,  and  his  tenant,  176. 

Amusements  of  the  people,  244. 

*  An  I  hadna  been  an  idiot  I  wad  hae  been  sleeping,  too,'  187. 
'And  ye've  as  muckle  need,  sir,'  154. 

Anecdote  of  a  Scotch  farmer,  and  a  Cheshire  reaper,  215. 

Anecdote  of  Mr.  M of  Glasgow,  38. 

«  Ane  o'  them  's  grippit  me  fine,'  88. 
Angus  and  Aberdeen  dialects,  115. 
Angus  laird,  and  the  London  merchant,  44. 
Angus,  Lord,  Bell  the  Cat,  139. 


282  Index. 

Angus  old  ladies,  79. 

Angus  words  used  by  old  people,  105. 

4  Anither  het  day,  cornal,'  85. 

Answers   of  servants    illustrating  habits   and    manners    of  the 

time,  73,  74. 
Ants'  nest,  200. 
Arbroath  theatricals,  181. 

*  Are  ye  a  speerit  ? '  240. 

'  Are  ye  ane  o'  the  toon  council  ? '  102.  . 

*  Are  yer  aits  muckle  bookit  th'  year  ? '  200. 
Argyle,  Duke  of,  and  the  Edinburgh  Magistrates,  104. 
Armadale's,  Lord,  dinner  party,  -212.    ....  : 

Asher,  Rev.  Mr.,  of  Inveraven,  185. 
Astronomical  speculation,  152. 
Athole,  Duke  of,  and  the  Perth  writer,  28. 
Athole,  Duke  of,  the  late,  167.     « 
Auld  lang  syne,  81. 

*  Aweel,  gudevvife,  then  the  less  I  lee,'  in. 

*  Ay,  ay,  sir,  but  indeed  it  was  yersel  began  it,'  194. 

*  Ay,  a'  ae  oo,'  87. 

1  Ay,  mony  a  ane  has  complained  o'  that  hole,'  153. 

*  Ay,  sir,  whare  ye  gaun  ? '  67. 

*  Aye,  but  fatten  fat  Thamas  Thamson,'  118. 

Baad  whusky,  39. 
Back-speired,  nr. 

Bailie 's  eldest  son,  102. 

Baird,  Mrs.,  of  Newbyth,  and  her  son,  91. 

Balfour's  edition  of  Ray's  Proverbs,  122. 

Balnamoon's  '  waile  o'  wigs'  on  Munrimmon  Muir,  161  ;  speat 

o'  drinking,'  162. 
Bannockburn,  258. 
Baptismal  ceremonies,  223,  224. 
Beadle  or  betheral,  189,  235,  236. 
Beattie,  Dr.,  Scotticisms  designed  to  correct  improprieties  of 

speech  and  writing,  103. 


Index.  283 

'  Beddle-looking  bodies,'  190. 
Beggars,  167,  168,  228. 

*  Bend  weel  to  the  Madeira  at  dinner,'  47. 
Bestial,  105. 

Bethune,  Dr.,  of  Dornoch,  anecdote,  217. 

*  Bide  a  wee,  doctor,'  etc.,  196. 

Births,  Marriages,  and  Deaths,  ceremonies,  223. 

Bishop  of  Exeter,  105. 

Black  sheep  or  white  sheep,  207. 

'  Boaty '  of  the  Dee  at  Banchory ;  his  idea  of  a  perfect  gentle- 
man, 69. 

Bobbins,  her  cure  for  a  cold,  177. 

Boiled  beef  and  greens,  156. 

Boswell,  James,  *  falling  into  a  habit  which  still  prevails  in 
Scotland,'  45. 

Braxfield  on  the  law  of  marriage,  226. 

Brougham,  Lord,  on  Scottish  language,  82. 

Brown,  George,  Lord  Coalstoun,  163. 

Brown,  John,  of  Whitburn,  anecdote  of,  35. 

Buccleuch,  Duchess  of,  and  the  farmer,  156. 

Buchanan,  George,  174. 

Builder's  views  of  church  differences,  31. 

Burnett,  Bishop,  '  Memoirs  of  my  own  Time,'  25. 

Burns,  Robert,  60,  62,  83,  149,  150. 

*  But,  indeed,  our  Jean  thinks  a  man  perfect  salvation,'  98 

*  But,  Lord,'hoo  tired  the  fowk  whiles  are,'  197. 

*  But  my  minnie  dang,  she  did  tho','  170. 

*  But  the  bodies  brew  the  braw  drink,'  169. 
Byron,  quotation  from  Don  Juan,  141. 

Cadger  at  Duntrune,  177. 
Caldvvell  papers  quoted,  262,  note. 
Campbell  of  Combie,  154. 
Campbell,  Dr.,  150. 
Campbell  of  Jura,  anecdote,  159. 

*  Can  she  make  good  collops  ?  '  99. 


284 


Index. 


*  Can  the  creature  sew  ony  ?  '  248. 
Canine  misbehaviour  in  church,  194. 
Carmurmock  Church,  221. 

Carnegy,  Miss  Helen,  of  Craigo,  96,  99,  101. 

Castlemilk  servants,  234. 

Cathkin's  Covenant,  146. 

Chalmers,  Dr.,  and  his  congregation  in  the  West  Port,  41  ; 
and  the  anecdote  at  Kilmany,  227. 

Chambers,  R.,  Domestic  Annals  of  Scotland,  14 ;  anecdote, 
117,  175,  224. 

Chambers,  William,  contributions,  50,  187. 

Changes  in  religious  observances,  32,  34. 

Changes  in  Scottish  language,  78. 

Chesterfield,  Lord,  on  proverbs,  122. 

Chisholm,  Mrs.,  of  Chisholm,  106. 

Christmas  and  Martinmas,  166,  167. 

Church  attendance,  26.  , 

Church  architecture,  a  new  era,  31. 

Church  decoration,  29. 

Churchyard  gossip,  76. 

Clason,  Rev.  Dr.,  reminiscences,  218-245. 

Clephane,  depute-advocate,  48. 

Cleric- Rattray,  the  late  baron's  opinion  of  betherals,  190. 

Clerk,  John,  Lord  Eldin,  120. 

Clock,  109. 

Club,  social  and  convivial  records  of  an  old  Edinburgh  soci- 
ety, 60,  61. 

Coalstoun  dining-room  window,  163. 

Cockburn,  Lord,  Memorials,  19,  48,  49,  56,  90,  93,  94. 

*  Come  awa,  granny,'  158,  159. 

'  Come  oot  and  see  a  new  star  that  hasna  got  its  tail  cuttit  aft' 

yet,'  152. 

'  Consignation  money,'  225. 
Convivial  habits,  43. 
Cookery,  Scotch,  257. 
Corb,  165. 


Index.  285 


Corehouse,  Lord  (Cranstoun),  48. 

Costume  at  dancing-school  balls,  262. 

Coutts,  John,  anecdote  of,  50. 

Craigmyle's  breeks,  164. 

*  Cry  a'  thegither,  that's  the  way  to  be  served,'  73. 

Cunninghame,  Lady  Elizabeth,  205. 

'  Daft  circuit,'  48. 

Daft  Will  Speir,  188. 

Daft  Yedie,  188. 

Dalhousie,  Christian,  Countess  of,  reminiscences,  162. 

Dalzell  manse,  220. 

Dam-brod,  107. 

Dance  music  of  Scotland,  250. 

Deaf  lady  and  the  Marquis  of  Lothian,  216. 

Deaths  and  funerals,  226. 

'  'Deed,  Robby,  then,  ye  needna  be  sae  nice  ;  he'll  juist  tak  ye 

as  ye  are,'  98. 
Deeside  humorists,  69. 
Deeside  stories,  163. 

Denholm,  Saunders,  and  his  mistress,  235. 
Dialects,  115. 

Dickson,  Dr.  David,  anecdote  of  a  Scottish  termagant,  197. 
Diminutives  in  frequent  use,  109. 
Diminutives,  Scottish,  use  of,  no. 
Dining  hours,  late,  62. 
Discreet,  105. 

Disruption  in  the  Church  of  Scotland,  32. 
Dog  stories,  74,  169. 
Domestic  servants,  65. 
Drawing  an  inference,  193. 
Drinking  anecdote,  54. 

Drinking  Angus  laird  and  the  London  merchant,  44. 
Drinking  fair,  49,  244. 
Drinking  habits,  46. 
Drinking  parties,  54. 


286  Index. 

Duckinfield    (Sir   Nathaniel),  and   the  '  ill-natured'  stories  of 

Montrose,  34. 
Dun,  Finlay,  96. 

Dunblane  Cathedral,  unroofed  by  Montrose's  followers,  242. 
Dundas,  Henry,  Viscount  Melville,  and  Mr.  Pitt,  104. 
Dundonald,  Laird  of,  his  funeral,  53. 
Dunlop,  Watty,  199. 
Dunse,  Dull,  and  Drone  parishes,  xvii. 
Duntrune  cadger,  177. 
Duntrune  cook,  178. 

Eating  (anecdote  of  a  '  full-eating  laird '),  64. 

*  Ech,  sirs!  what  a  nicht  for  me  to  be  fleeing  thro'  the  air,'  93. 
Edinburgh  magistrates  and  the  '  dukes  and  fools,'  104. 
Education,  89. 

Eglinton  Papers,  quoted,  145. 

*  Eh,  man,  your  psalm-buik  has  been  ill  bund,'  198. 
'  Eh,  our  minister  had  a  great  power  o'  waiter,'  191. 

*  Eh,  mem,  do  they  ca'  skirling  like  yon,  singing,'  251. 
Elizabeth  and  the  '  lang  grace  and  nae  meat,'  158. 
Enterteening,  106. 

Erskine,  Colonel, "and  his  old  servant,  232  ;  his  choleric  tem- 
perament, 233. 

Erskine  of  Dun,  anecdote,  67. 
Erskine,  Henry,  212. 
Erskine,  Miss,  of  Dun,  79,  94,  221. 
Erskine,  Rev.  Dr.,  anecdote,  233. 
Erskine,  William,  48. 

'  Esther,  ye  hae  nae  gotten  the  spune  ? '  95.    . 
Exquisite  astronomical  speculation,  152. 

Fail,   107. 

Family  prayer,  practice  of,  33. 

Famine  of  1800,  Dr.  Clason's  recollections,  237. 

*  Fan  he's  had  time  to  curse  a  fyllie,  I'se  warran'  he'll  seen  be 

weel  eneuch,'  246. 


Index.  287 


*  Fa's  findin'  faut  wi'  the  day  ?  '  174. 
Fasque  dining-room,  88. 

*  Fat  did  he  dee  o'  ? '  117. 

4  Fat  for  should  I  gang  to  the  opera,  just  to  creat  a  confee- 
sion.'   1 1 8. 

*  Fatten  fat  Thamas  Thamson  ? '  118. 
Fencing  the  deil,  208. 
Fergusson's  Scottish  Proverbs,  122. 
Ferguson,  W.,  Poems,  58-60,  83,  116. 
Fettercairn  Church,  253. 
Fielding's  Tom  Jones,  266. 

'  Fin'  a  fardin  for  yersell,  puir  body,'  168. 
Finnan  Haddies,  116. 

*  Fond  o'  my  landlord  ! '  95. 

Forbes,  Sir  William,  anecdote,  29  ;  Memoirs  of  a   Banking- 
house,  50. 

Forfarshire  lady  and  her  servant  Andrew,  75. 
Forfarshire  lady,  91. 
Frail,  107. 

Fraser,  John,  and  the  goose  that  '  had  but  ae  leg,'  178. 
Funeral  customs  in  Hamilton,  227. 
Funerals,  Highland,  53,  54.  • 

Gaelic  clergy,  52. 

Galloway  dialect,  1 1 6. 

Gait's  Annals  of  the  Parish,  150. 

Games,  256. 

*  Get  up  !  I  wadna  rise  out  o'  my  chair  for  King  George  him- 

sell,'  103. 

*  Gey  impudent  o'  him,  I  think,'  93. 
Gilchrist,  Dr.,  and  his  parishioner,  202. 
Gillespie,  Professor,  208,  210. 
Gipsies,  229. 

Glasgow  Cathedral,  31. 

Glenorchy,  Wilhelmina,  Viscountess,  her  church  and  resting- 
place,  206. 


288  Index. 

Golf  and  curling,  256. 

Gordon,  Jaroe,  Duchess  of,  and  the  Laird  of  Craigmyle,  163; 

anecdote,  79. 
Gow,  Nathaniel,  250. 
Gow,  Neil,  250. 
Graham,  Miss  Stirling,  of  Duntrune,  '  Mystifications,'    172  ; 

'  Worthies,'  173. 

Graham,  Mrs.,  of  Balmure,  and  Saunders  Hay,  173. 
Greyfriars'  Church,  31. 
'  Grippit  a  chiel  for  the  powny,'  88. 

Grippy,  88.  ,"  - 

'  Gude  coorse  country  wark,'  192. 

*  Had  Skinner  been  of  carnal  mind,'  etc.  an. 
Haddo's  Hole  precentor,  191. 

Haddock,   108,  116. 

Hamilton,  Duke  of,  and  the  shoemaker,  224;  and  the  pugilist, 

•      239- 

Hamilton  the  sma  sma  laird,  anecdotes,  165,  166. 
Handel's  oratorios,  248. 
Honest,  108. 
Harvest,  thanksgiving  for,  204. 

*  Hech,  man,  div  ye  no  ken  there's  aye  maist  sawn  o'  the  best 

crap  ?  '  76. 

*  Hech,  sirs !  and  he  is  weel  pat  on,  too,'  257. 
Henderson's  Scottish  Proverbs,  123,  131. 

Henry,  Reverend  Dr.,  and  his  colleague  Dr.  Macknight,  196. 

*  Here's  to  a'  the  company's  gude  health,  except  my  Lord  Privy 

Seal  and  Lady  Betty  Mackenzie,'  175. 
Hermand,  Lord,  convivial  habits,  48,49. 
Het  pint,  263. 
Highland  funerals,  53. 
'Holy  minister!  congregation!  O  my  head  maun   be   cuttit 

aff,'  1 86. 

Home,  John,  epigram,  213. 
Hoot,  sir,  209. 


Index.  289 

Hume,  David,  rehearsing  the  Creed,  40  ;  t  his  wee  bukies,'  no. 
Hummelcorn  discourse  (/.  e.,  a  poor  sermon),  79. 
Humour  in  children,  157. 
Humorist  minister  and  hearer,  202. 

*  I  didna  ken  ye  were  i'  the  toun,'  79. 
Idiots,  183. 

*  If  I  dinna  get  it,  I'll  tell  thon,'  159. 

*  If  there's  an  ill  text  in  a'  the  Bible  that  creetur's  aye  sure  to 

tak  it,'  40. 

*  I  just  fan'  a  doo  in  the  redd  o'  my  plate,'  64. 

*  Ilka  ane  had  a  hen  boiled  in  broth,'  176. 

*  I'm  no  surprised  at  it,  considering  the  trash  that  comes  affyour 

stamach  in  the  morning,'  171. 

*  Indeed,  I  maun  hae  a  lume  that  '11  had  in,'  161. 

*  Indeed,  minister,  there's  mair  leears  in  Peebles  than  me,'  187. 

*  Indeed,  there's  neither  men    nor  meesic,  and  fat  care  I  for 

meat,'  118. 

*  Indeed,  sir,  I'm  just  as  little  the  better,'  94. 

4  In  my  situation  !  and  whan  were  ye  in  my  situation  ? '  96. 
Inquisitiveness,  national,  153. 

'  I  should  like  to  know  who  is  the  head  of  this  house,'  204. 
'  Is  it  lawful  at  ony  time  to  tell  a  lee  ?  '  184. 

*  Is  your  ladyship  inclined  to  take  fish,'  216. 

*  It's  no  the  day  to  be  speering  sic  things,'  38. 

*  It  stoors  in  an  oor,'  79. 

*  I  wadna  gie  my  single  life  for  a'  the  double  anes  I  ever  saw, 

76. 

'  I  wadna  gie  the  crack  i'  the  kirkyard  for  a'  the  sermon,'  77. 
'  I  wadna  hae  the  walkers,  and  the  riders  gaed  by,'  137. 
'  It  wou'd  na  gang  wast  in  spite  o'  me,'  85. 

*  I  was  married  to  a  moudiewart  last,'  182. 

*  It's  no  my  wig,  Hairy,  lad,'  160,  161. 
Italian  singing,  251. 

Jacobite  anecdotes,  41,  42. 


290  Index. 

'  James,  the  notes  are  not  correct,'  155. 

*  John,  carry  that  dog  out,'  193. 
Johnstone,  Miss,  of  Westerhall,  92. 

*  Jemmy,  you  are  drunk!'  169. 
Judges,  Scottish,  119 

Kail,  1 08. 

Keith,  Mrs.,  267. 

Kelly's  Scottish  Proverbs,  123,  124. 

Kemble  in  Macbeth,  remark  on,  by  a  Scotch  farmer,  105,  106. 

*  Kind  sir,  it's  for  your  courtesie,'  etc.,  212. 

Ladies,  old  Scottish,  90. 
Lamb,  Charles,  on  Scottish  wit,  149. 
Laudamy  and  calomy,  258. 
Lauderdale,  Earl  of,  and  his  son,  213. 
Layal,  Jamie,  and  the  turkies,  72. 

*  Leeve  !  hoo  could  she  leeve  ? '  99. 

Letter  from  an  old  Montrose  lady  to  her  niece  in  England,  and 

reply,  112,  113. 
Listen,  Sir  Robert,  84. 
Logic  church,  221 ;  old  minister,  243. 
Long  sermons,  197. 

*  Lord  pity  the  chiel  that's  chained  to  our  Davy,'  92. 
Lothian,  Marquis  of,  and  his  workmen,  73;  anecdote,  216. 

Mackenzie,  Henry,  anecdote,  54. 

Macnab,  laird  of,  and  his  horse,  164. 

MacNabb,  Miss,  of  Bar-a'-Chaistril,  155. 

Macknight,  Rev.  Dr.,  and  his  colleague  Dr.  Henry,  196. 

4  Ma  new  breeks  were  made  oot  o'  the  auld  curtains,'  159. 

Marriage  ceremonies,  224. 

Matthews,  Mrs.  Westhall,  175. 

Matthews,  Charles,  195. 

Matthew,  Meg,  and  her  'bairns,'  179. 

Maule,  Mr.,  and  the  Laird  of  Skene,  45. 


Index.  291 

Mearns,  words  used  in  the,  119. 

*  Me  hird  !  I  dinna  ken  corn  frae  gerse,'  188. 
Melville,  Viscount,  anecdote,  104. 
Midlothian  Scotch,  83. 

Military  rank  attached  to  ladies,  257. 

Monday,  superstition  regarding,  173. 

Montrose  ladies,  93-103. 

Montrose,  provost  of,  and  the  old  lady,  95,  96. 

'  Mony  a  ane  has  complained  o'  that  hole,'  153. 

1  Mony  thanks,  mem,  I  dinna  need  it,'  156. 

Mrs.  Mary  Smith  and  Miss  Peggy  Fyffe,  173, 

Mure,  Mrs.,  of  Caldwell,  and  David  Hume,  no. 

Murray,  Mrs.,  of  Abercairney,  and  the  salt  spoon,  71. 

Music,  Scottish,  249. 

«  My  lady,  gie  us  less  o'  your  mainers,  and  mair  o'  your  siller,' 

206. 
Mystifications,  172. 

*  Na,  na,  my  leddy,  I  druve  ye  to  your  marriage,'  67. 
<  Na,' '  Naa,'  '  Naaa,'  86. 

'  Na,  na,  he's  no  just  deep,  but  he's  drumly,'  71. 

*  Na,  na,  I  dinna  serve  the  deevil ;    I  serve  ae  single  lady,'  76. 
'  Na,  na,  minister,  juist  ye  come  up  wi'  me,'  184. 

*  Na,  na,  I  never  write  onything  o'  consequence,'  91. 

*  Na,  Janet,  deil  as  muckle  as  that't  ever  ye  saw,'  170. 
Nanny  Bilson,  229. 

National  inquisitiveness,  153. 

'  Neebour,  wad  ye  sit  a  bit  wast  ?  '  84. 

Newbattle  servants,  74. 

Newcastle,  Duke  of,  and  the  Provost  of  Edinburgh,  104, 

'  News  !  oh  ! '  102. 

New-year  celebrations,  263. 

Nichol  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  75. 

*  Od,  Charlie  Brown,  what  gars  ye  hae  sic  lang  steps  to  vour 

front  door  ?  '  163. 


292  Index. 

'  O,  doctor,  doctor !  you'll  kill  me,'  185. 

'  Od,  ye're  a  lang  lad  ;  God  gie  ye  grace,'  94. 

*  Oh,  he's  a  whistlekirk  minister,'  30. 
'  Oh,  I  hae  seen  the  pretty  man,'  189. 
'  Oh,  I  wush  that  I  was  dry,'  196. 

'  Oh,  mem,  it's  varra  enterteening,'  106. 

*  Oh,  Mr.  Divet,'  100. 

'  Oh  that  men  would  therefore  praise  the  Lord,'  26. 
'  O  my  head  maun  be  cuttit  aff,'  186. 

*  On  the  contrary,  sir,'  154. 

*  Ony  dog  micht  sune  become  a  greyhound  by  stopping  here,' 

169. 
Organs  and  Liturgies,  30. 

*  Ou  ay,  man ;  senselessly  ceevil,'  97. 

'  Ou,  it's  varra  bonny,  varra  bonny,'  30. 

*  Ou,  it's  juist  a  bit  queanie,'  177. 
'  Our  John  sweers  awfu','  28. 

'  Our  Jean  thinks  a  man  perfect  salvation,'  98. 

'  Oo  ?  ay,  a'  ae  oo,'  87. 

'  Ou  ay,  it's  a  cauf,'  120. 

'  Our  minister  had  a  great  power  o'  waiter,'  191. 

4  Our  Watty  Dunlop,'  198. 

Parish  idiots,  anecdotes  of,  182-190. 

Paul,  Rev.  Dr.,  of  St.  Cuthberts,  183. 

Paul's  girdle,  157. 

Paul,  Saunders,  an  innkeeper  at  Banchory,  45,  63,  69. 

Peculiarities  yet  remaining,  257. 

Penny  weddings,  225. 

Penurious  laird  and  the  beggar,  168. 

Perth,  Lady,  and  the  French  gentleman,  93 

Pig,  106. 

Political  partialities,  41. 

Polkemmet,  Lord,  anecdotes,  119. 

'  Poor  auld  bodies  could  be  nae  terror  to  ony  body,'  193. 

Porteous  Mob,  104. 


Index.  293 


Pronunciation,  109. 
Prophet's  Chalmer,  205. 
Proverbial  expressions,  121. 
Proverbs,  125-147. 
Public  rooms,  256. 

Raiment  fit,'  158. 

Ramsay  (Sir  A.),  and  Jamie  Layal,  71,  72. 
Ramsay,  Allan,  83. 
Ramsay's  Scots  Proverbs,  123,  130. 
Ramsay,  Sir  George,  and  Corb,  165. 
Ramsays,  Miss,  of  Balmain,  99. 
Rax  me  a  spaul  o'  that  bubbly  jock,  80. 
Ray's  English  Proverbs,  123. 

Religious  feelings  and  religious  observances,  25-42. 
Religious  feeling  among  the  Scottish  peasantry,  37,  38. 
Resisting  the  deevil,  204. 
Rhubarb  tart,  156. 
Ripin'  the  ribs,  80. 

Robertson,  Principal,  and  the  country  minister,  47 . 
Roads,  Highland,  152. 
Russell,  Mr.,  of  Blackha',  69. 
Rutherfurd,  Lord,  and  the  Bonally  shepherd,  37. 

Sabbath  desecration,  37-39. 

Sandford,  Bishop,  experience  of  church-going,  26. 

*  Sandy'  and  his  mistress,  68. 
Sand-glass  in  churches,  254. 
Sappho,  quotation  from,  141. 
Sax  feet  in  length,  32. 
Sentiments,  56-62. 

*  Sen'  for  that  preaching  man  frae  Livingstone,'  214. 
Scoto-Gallic  words  and  phrases,  259-261. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  dedication  of  Waverley  Novels,  xvii. 
Scott,  Sir  Walter,  and  Selkirk  writer,  48  ;  his  novels,  26,  104, 
140,  142. 

13* 


294  Index. 

Scottish  conviviality,  43-64. 

Scottish  judges,  119. 

Scottish  humour  and  proverbs,  78. 

Scottish  ministers,  xvii. 

Scottish  music,  249. 

Scottish  stories  of  wit  and  humour,  148.  +, 

Scottish  domestic  servant,  65. 

Scottish  beadles,  189,  195. 

Scotsman  newspaper,  anecdote  from,  211,  254. 

Servants,  old  Scottish,  65-77,  232~236. 

'She's  vicious  upo'  the  wark,'  76. 

*  She's  lichter  of  a  laddie,'  223. 

*  She  had  a  tappie-tourie  on  her  head,'  175. 

Shirra,  Mr.,  the  Seceding  minister,  anecdotes  of,  199. 

Silly,  107. 

'  Sinclair,    Sir    John,   observations    on    the    Scottish    dialect, 

103. 
'  Sir,   ye're   breaking    something    there    forbye    the    stanes ! ' 

37- 
'  Sir,  your  hospitality  borders  upon  brutality,'  44. 

*  Sir,  I'm  the  lad  that's  to  lowse  the  neckcloths,'  56. 
'  Sic  a  speat  of  praying,'  etc.,  162. 

Skene,  Laird  of,  and  Mr.  Maule,  45. 

Skinner,  Bishop  John,  245. 

Skinner,  Rev.  John,  211,  212. 

Smith,  Adam,  anecdote  of,  257. 

Smith,  Sydney,  preaching  in  Edinburgh,  26,  148,  149. 

Smith,  Sydney,  on  Scottish  'wut,'  149. 

Smith,  Mrs.  Mary,  and  Miss  Peggy  Fyffe,  173. 

Smollett's  Humphrey  Clinker,  267. 

Smugglers,  240. 

Solitary  Highland  road,  152. 

*  Solomon  would  be  thocht  naething  o'  noo,'  89. 

*  Some  fowk  like  parritch,  and  some  like  paddocks,'  93. 
Songs  of  Scotland,  250. 

Solon's  saying,  141. 


Index.  295 

South  Leith  Church,  31. 

Spring  butter,  99. 

Sterne,  Lawrence,  Tristram  Shandy,  267. 

Stirling  of  Keir  and  the  miller  of  Keir,  42. 

Stirling  of  Keir,  admirable  lecture  on    Proverbial  philosophy, 

123,  131.. 

'  Stour  out  o'  the  cushion  ! '  191. 
Strong-minded  lady  and  the  cook,  99. 
St.  Giles'  betheral,  192. 
Stained  glass,  30. 

Stewart,  Honourable  Mrs.,  and  her  servant  Jeannie,  38. 
Stuart,  Lady,  of  Castlemilk,  221. 

Stuart,  Sir  Michael  Shaw,  and  his  old  servant  Peter,  234. 
Suppers  in  Scotland,  55. 
Sunday  intimations,  234. 
Superstitious,  108. 
Sutherland's,  Dul^e  of,  funeral,  54. 
Sutherland,  Colonel  Alexander,  anecdote,  217. 
Swearing  habits,  27. 
Swearing  at  lairge,  28. 
Symson,  Andrew,  minister  of  Kirkinner,  116,  note. 

'  Tak  that  —  Let  them  fecht  wha  like,'  215. 

'  Take  out  that   dog ;   he'd  wauken   a   Glasgow   magistrate,' 

195- 

Tavern  suppers,  55. 

Taylor  the  manager  and  his  father,  174. 
'  Then  I'm  sure  it  maun  be  broon  paper,'  99. 
Thorn,  Provost,  and  Miss  Carnegy  of  Craigo,  96. 
Thorn,  Rev.  Mr.,  195. 

'  The  bairns  to  ae  house,  and  the  meat  to  anither,'  167. 
'The  less  I  lee,'  in.  * 

'  They've  drunken  sax  gang  o'  waiter,'  50. 
There's  a  whun-buss  at  your  horse's  catastrophe,  210. 
*  Todbrae  banes,'  195. 
Toasts  and  rounds,  55-64. 


296 


Index. 


*  Toot,  a  glass  o'  whisky  is  to  me  just  like  a  flea  in  a  coal-pit/ 

229. 

'  Try  ye  him  wi'  ten,'  172. 
Tractarianism  in  Scotland,  29. 
Trinity  College  Church,  255. 

*  Twa  beddle-looking  bodies,'  190. 
Tweeddale,  Lord,  74. 

Tytler,  Patrick,  life,  89,  106. 

Usages  in  old  parish  churches,  235. 

Waile  o'  wigs,  161. 

*  Walth  o'  images  there,'  29. 

'  We  hae  a*  thing,  we're  no  married,'  100. 

*  We  are  bits  o'  Glasgow  bodies,'  no. 
Wedderburn  of  Pearsie  and  the  cook,  178. 

«  Weel,  maister  ghaist,  is  this  a  general  rising,  or  are  ye  juist 
taking  a  daunder  frae  your  grave  by  yersell  ? '  199. 

*  Weel,  hoo  the  deil  do  ye  ken  whether  this  be  the  road  or  no  ? ' 

188. 

*  What  ails  ye  at  her  wi'  the  green  gown  ?  '  7 1. 

*  What  a  big  lee  !  it's  a  cauff,'  67. 

'  Whatna  hummel-doddie  o'  a  mutch  hae  ye  gotten  ? '  79. 
«  Whaur  ? '  87. 

*  Whaur's  this  you're  gaun,  Robby  ?  '  98. 
Whistlekirk  minister,  30. 

*  Who  is  the  head  of  this  house  ? '  204. 

'  Who  says  I'm  afraid  to  pass  the  dirt-pot  ?  '  52. 

Whun  ye  get  cheenge  for  a  saxpence,  it's  soon  slippit  awa,' 

86. 
Whisky    toddy,   first    mention    of,   in    an    Edinburgh    club, 

61. 

Wilson,  John,  the  vocalist,  96. 
Wilson,  Professor,  149. 
Wut,  Scottish,  149. 


Index.  297 


'  Ye  a'  speak  sae  genteel  now  that  I  dinna  ken  wha  s  Scotch,' 

89. 

'Ye  are  ower  pridefu',  Davie  Miller,'  176. 
'  Ye'd  soon  be  kickit  out  o'  that,'  88. 
*  Ye  may  hae  that  profit,  but  honour  ye  hae  nane,'  102. 
'  Ye'll  aften  see  a  light  peeping  through  a  crack,'  199. 
4  Your  Grace  maun  alloo  it's  a  vera  windy  vegetable,'  156. 


THE    END. 


CAMBRIDGE  :    PRINTED   BY   H.    O.    HOUGHTON. 


TICKNOR  AND   FIELDS 

PUBLISH  THE  ILLUSTRATED  HOUSEHOLD  EDITION  OF  THE 
WAVERLEY  NOVELS.  In  $0  vols.  Price  75  cents  per 'vol. 
Any  one  of  the  novels  sold  separately. 

WAVERLEY. 

GUY  MANNERING. 

THE  ANTIQUARY. 

ROB  ROY. 

OLD  MORTALITY. 

BLACK  DWARF. 

LEGEND  OF  MONTROSB. 

HEART  OF  MID  LOTHIAN. 

BRIDE  OF  LAMMERMOOR. 

IVANHOE. 

THE  MONASTERY. 

THE  ABBOT. 

KENILWORTH. 

THE  PIRATE. 

FORTUNES  OF  NIGEL. 

PEVERIL  OF  THE  PEAK. 

QUENTIN  DURWARD. 

ST.  RONAN'S  WELL. 

REDGAUNTLET. 

THE  BETROTHED. 

THE  HIGHLAND  WIDOW. 

THE  TALISMAN. 

Two  DROVERS. 

MY  AUNT  MARGARET'S  MIRROR. 

THE  TAPESTRIED  CHAMBER. 

THE  LAIRD'S  JOCK. 

WOODSTOCK. 

THE  FAIR  MAID  OF  PERTH. 

ANNE  OF  GEIERSTEIN. 

COUNT  ROBERT  OF  PARIS. 

THE  SURGEON'S  DAUGHTER. 

CASTLE  DANGEROUS. 

INDEX  AND  GLOSSARY. 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  of  any 
University  of  California  Library 
or  to  the 

NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
Bldg.  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 
2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 

(415)642-6233 
1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books 

to  NRLF 
Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4  days 

prior  to  due  date 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


NIF  9.9. 


SMSMMS 


H 

XovvHmBA 


» 

mjS 


Iwpill' 
rJ&&Mil 

i>is?ii 


